URGENT ACTION APPEAL
Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though
you may not have
received the original UA when issued on May 4, 2006. Thanks!
06 October 2006
Further Information on UA 118/06 (4 May 2006) and follow-ups
(24 May 2006; 21 July 2006; 04 August 2006; 18 September
2006) - Imminent execution
PAKISTAN Mirza Tahir Hussain (m)
Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British national who has been in
detention in Pakistan for over 18 years, was due to be
hanged on 1 October. He was temporarily saved from this fate
by the Pakistani tradition of not holding executions during
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. His execution date is to
be moved forward and will now be scheduled for a date after
23 October.
On the day that Mirza Tahir Hussain's stay of execution
expired, President Pervez Musharraf rejected a mercy plea
from Mirza Tahir Hussain's family to commute his sentence.
Several stays of execution have been granted whilst Mirza
Tahir Hussain's family have attempted to seek a pardon from
and to offer monetary compensation to the family of the taxi
driver he was found guilty of killing. However, the victim's
family has refused to accept their offer. All legal avenues
open to Mirza Tahir Hussain and his family now seem to have
been exhausted.
Amnesty International strongly believes that due to
discrepancies between different judgements handed down in
this case that Mirza Tahir Hussain's conviction is unsafe.
Mirza Tahir Hussain was tried and convicted of murdering a
taxi driver while travelling to the village of Bhubar from
Rawalpindi on 17 December 1988. The taxi driver reportedly
stopped the car and produced a gun, and Mirza Tahir Hussain,
who was 18 years old at the time, was reportedly physically
and sexually assaulted by the taxi driver. In the scuffle
that followed, the gun went off, and the taxi driver was
fatally injured.
Mirza Tahir Hussain was sentenced to death in 1989 at the
Sessions Court in the city of Islamabad. Following an
appeal, this sentence was dismissed by the Lahore High
Court, which noted discrepancies in the case. The case was
returned to the Sessions Court where Mirza Tahir Hussain was
sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994. Following a second
appeal, the Lahore High Court then dismissed this sentence
in 1996, and Mirza Tahir Hussain was acquitted of all
charges against him.
A week after his acquittal, Mirza Tahir Hussain's case was
referred to the Federal Shariat Court, which maintains
jurisdiction over offences and punishments covered under
Islamic law. The court considered charges brought against
him in the original case, including robbery involving
murder, which fall under Islamic offences against property
law. The entire case against Mirza Tahir Hussain was
reopened, and in 1998, he was sentenced to death by the
Federal Shariat Court, despite their acknowledgment that no
robbery had taken place as Mirza Tahir Hussain had hired the
taxi. The death sentence handed down by the Federal Shariat
Court was based on a split judgement, with two judges voting
for the death penalty and one against. The dissenting judge
strongly recommended that Mirza Tahir Hussain be acquitted.
Amnesty International believes that Mirza Tahir Hussain has
not received a fair trial. Also, the Islamic provision under
which he was tried requires that the death penalty should
only be imposed if reliable eyewitness accounts or a
confession to the court are submitted. In this case, neither
was obtained.
The Supreme Court upheld the judgement in 2003 and dismissed
an appeal in 2004. On 1 October 2006, President Musharraf
refused to use his powers under Article 45 of the
Constitution of Pakistan to commute Mirza Tahir Hussain's
sentence. Mirza Tahir Hussain has now been in prison for 18
years which by the standards of most legal systems is more
than a life sentence.
He is currently held in 10 by 12 foot cell which he shares
with 3 other inmates also sentenced to death in the vastly
overcrowded Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Amnesty International, along with a number of other notable
organizations, believes that the trial of Mirza Tahir
Hussain did not conform to international fair trial
standards. These organizations are continuing to call on
President Musharraf to use his powers under Article 45 of
the Constitution of Pakistan to commute his death sentence.
Article 45 clearly states: ''The President shall have power
to grant pardon, reprieve and respite and to remit, suspend
or commute any sentence passed by a court, tribunal or
authority''.
Previous Presidents of Pakistan have used their powers under
Article 45 to commute death sentences; for example, in 1998,
Indian citizen Parminder Singh Saini was granted a pardon
for hijacking an airliner from India to Pakistan. His death
sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was later
granted a full pardon by the then President of Pakistan.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- calling on President Musharraf to use his powers under
Article 45 of the Constitution to commute the death sentence
of Mirza Tahir Hussain;
- expressing concern that he was sentenced to death after an
unfair trial;
- noting that previous Presidents of Pakistan have used
their powers under Article 45 to commute death sentences;
- noting that Amnesty International has observed a recent
surge in executions in Pakistan, and urging the President to
make all possible efforts to join a worldwide trend towards
the abolition of the death penalty in law and practice.
APPEALS TO:
President Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: 011 92 51 9221422
Email: via website:
http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessa
ge.aspx
Salutation: Dear President Musharraf
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Jehangir Karamat
Embassy of Pakistan
2315 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 686 1544
Email: info at pakistan-embassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
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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
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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