[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE

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25 May 2006

Further Information on UA 127/06 (09 May 2006) - Imminent
Execution

PAKISTAN    Ilyas (m)
            Ghulam Abbas (m)
            Muhammad Asif (m)

The three men named above are now scheduled for execution
on 6 June. President Musharraf has rejected their mercy
appeals, but he still has the power to commute their death
sentences.

The anti-terrorism court which convicted them delayed the
execution to allow the men's families to complete
negotiations with the victims' families, to persuade them
to accept payment of compensation in exchange for the
release of the men. These negotiations failed, and on 19
May the anti-terrorism court issued new death warrants.

Ilyas, Ghulam Abbas and Muhammad Asif were reportedly
sentenced to death in 1998 by an anti-terrorism court and
the decision was upheld by the Lahore High Court and the
Supreme Court.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

At least 241 people were sentenced to death in Pakistan in
2005, and at least 31 were executed. Most had been
convicted of murder. Many well-off convicts were able to
escape punishment under provisions of the Qisas and Diyat
Ordinance, which allows relatives of murder victims to
accept compensation and pardon the offender.

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 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:
- calling on President Musharraf to use his powers under
article 45 of the Constitution of Pakistan to commute the
death sentences of Ilyas, Ghulam Abbas and Muhammad Asif
immediately;
- calling on him to institute an immediate moratorium on
all executions in the country, with a view to eventual
abolition of the death penalty, in line with worldwide
trends.


APPEALS TO:

General Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
Pakistan
Fax:        011 92 51 9221422
E-mail:     via the president's website:
http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.as
px
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. Check with the DC office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, EST, weekdays only, if sending
appeals after June 6, 2006


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 UPDATE
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