PAKISTAN:
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa22413.pdf
Further information on UA: 224/13 (16 August 2013)
Issue Date: 20 August 2013
Country: Pakistan
EXECUTIONS TEMPORARILY HALTED IN PAKISTAN
A temporary halt to planned executions was ordered by the Pakistan Prime
Minister on 18 August
until he has spoken to the President, Asif Ali Zardari, who is opposed to the
death penalty.
Thousands will be at risk of execution after President Zardari’s term in office
ends on 8
September.
At least eight men were scheduled to be executed across Pakistan between 20 and
25 August. In Sindh
province: Attaullah alias Qasim, Muhammad Azam alias Sharif and Jalal alias
Abdul Jalil, who are in
Sukkur Jail, Behram Khan and Shafqat Hussain in Karachi Central Prison; and in
the Punjab; Muhammad
Munir Hussain in Vehari Jail, Zulfiqar Ali Khan in Kot Lakhpat Jail, and
Mohammad Ameen. Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif halted these planned executions on Sunday 18
August, after the
President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, asked to speak to him about plans to
resume carrying out
the death penalty.
Shafqat Hussain and Mohammad Ameen were juveniles when the crimes were
committed. Pakistan is a
State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which forbid the imposition of capital punishment for
crimes committed by
persons below 18 years of age. Shafqat Hussain claims he was subjected to
ill-treatment during
interrogation under police custody.
The prisoners have all been convicted of various crimes that include murder and
kidnapping. Behram
Khan claims he was subjected to ill-treatment during interrogation under police
custody and that he
did not receive a fair trial after he failed to bribe law enforcement
officials. Munir Hussain’s
family say he suffers from mental illness and his lawyers are trying to arrange
an independent
mental health examination. Attaullah and Muhammad Azam were convicted for
killing a Shi’a Muslim
doctor. They and Jalal are reported to be members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an
armed group that has
claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, targeting the Shi’a Muslim
minority, that have
claimed hundreds of lives. Zulfiqar Ali Khan was arrested for murder on 14
April 1998. According to
his lawyer, he committed the crime in self-defense. During the 14 years he has
been on death row,
Zulfiqar Ali Khan has gained a Masters Degree in Political Science and a Master
of Business
Administration. He is also known as ‘The Educator’ at Adiala Jail as he has
contributed to the
education of hundreds of other inmates while in prison.
Please write immediately in English, Urdu or your own language:
-Welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to halt executions and urging the
Pakistan government to
establish an official moratorium on all executions in the country as a first
step towards abolition
of the death penalty in line with four UN General Assembly resolutions;
-Calling on the Pakistan government to ensure that any measures taken to combat
crime do not
violate human rights standards regarding law enforcement and the right to a
fair trial; and
-Urging the Pakistan President and government to commute all existing death
sentences.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 01 OCTOBER 2013 TO:
President
Asif Ali Zardari
Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 011 92 51 920 4974
Email: http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/index.php?lang=en&opc=8
Salutation: Dear President
Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 011 92 51 921 3780, 011 92 51 922 1596
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Send copies to:
Her Excellency Ambassador Sherry Rehman
Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
3517 International Ct NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 202 243 6500 (Ext. 2000 & 2001)
Fax: 1 202 686 1534
Email: [email protected] –OR– [email protected]
Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the
above date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
More than 8,000 prisoners are at risk of being executed should the government
of Pakistan resume
the implementation of the death penalty. The Interior Minister reportedly said
that 450 convicts
were awaiting imminent execution as they have exhausted their legal appeals.
These executions would
be the first to be authorized by the government of Pakistan since late 2008,
with the exception of
the execution of a soldier by military authorities in late 2012.
After a succession of high-profile killings across the country since taking
office in June 2013,
the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has promised to recommence
executions as it faces
pressure to improve the law and order situation. There is no compelling
evidence that the death
penalty is a deterrent in capital crimes compared to other forms of punishment.
The most
comprehensive study carried out by the UN in 1988 and most recently updated in
2008 concluded that
there is no proof that executions are a greater deterrent to crime than life
imprisonment. Amnesty
International’s concern is heightened by the fact that in Pakistan many death
sentences are handed
down after trials that do not meet international fair trial standards. These
trials are
characterized by a lack of access to legal counsel and an acceptance of
evidence inadmissible under
international law. Statements extracted through torture continue to be used as
evidence in court.
Defendants often face restrictions in trying to access a lawyer or are given
state-appointed
lawyers who are often poorly trained and paid, and may not represent their
clients vigorously
unless given further payments by the defendant or their family. In addition,
the right to fair
trial has been undermined in trials before lower courts which continue to
sentence people to death.
These courts operate with restricted public access and with the requirement for
trials to be
completed within a matter of days or weeks, putting judges under extreme
pressure to convict.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any
circumstances,
regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or
the method used by
the state to carry out the execution. The organisation considers the death
penalty a violation of
the right to life as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
Names: Attaullah alias Qasim; Muhammad Azam alias Sharif; Jalal alias Abdul
Jalil; Behram Khan;
Shafqat Hussain; Muhammad Munir Hussain; Dr Zulfiqar Ali Khan; Mohammad Ameen
(m)
Issues: Death penalty, Unfair trial, Ill-treatment
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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
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600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
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Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/uan
Phone: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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