Sept. 1
PAKISTAN:
LHC dismisses plea against execution of disabled person
A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Tuesday dismissed a petition against
the execution of a disabled death row prisoner.
The division bench comprising Justice Anwaarul Haq and Justice Erum Sajad Gull
heard the petition, which was filed by Nusrat Parveen against the execution of
her disabled son, Abdul Basit.
During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel submitted that Basit was paralysed
from the waist down and used a wheelchair as a result of an illness, which he
contracted in prison.
Basit's lawyer contended that he has already suffered unusual punishment, and
to try to execute him now would be a form of "double punishment", prohibited
under Pakistani law.
The counsel further submitted that jail manual gave no instructions on how to
execute disabled prisoners and the court could intervene if law was ambiguous.
However, on behalf of the home department, a provincial law officer submitted
that disabled person could be hanged under Sub-Section 2 of Sections 350 and
356 of jail rules.
He pointed out that such a matter was raised before Lahore High Court and the
Supreme Court but the execution was not stopped.
He said that a disabled person could be hanged by using their wheel chair.
The bench after hearing detailed arguments from both parties dismissed the
petition.
It is pertinent to mention that the court had stayed the execution of Basit
which was scheduled for last month, Abdul Basit (43), was convicted and
sentenced to death for a murder in 2009.
(source: Pakistan Today)
INDIA:
Amnesty backs law panel's findings on death penalty
Amnesty International India on Tuesday urged the government to accept the
findings of the Law Commission on death penalty and immediately abolish it for
all crimes.
In a statement, it said the Centre "must heed the findings of a Law Commission
report on the unfairness of the death penalty" and immediately abolish it for
all crimes.
"The Law Commission points out that in nearly a quarter of the cases in which
the Supreme Court has recently given the death penalty, it has done so in
error," Aakar Patel, Executive Director of Amnesty International India, said
adding the report is a "vital step" forward in the debate around the death
penalty in India. He said the Commission debunks many of the "myths surrounding
death penalty".
"Although the report stops short of recommending complete abolition, Parliament
must seize this opportunity to show political leadership and abolish capital
punishment for all crimes," he said.
"As the report says, the government has the power to lead public opinion, and
indeed an obligation to do so on issues of human dignity and equality. India's
gamble with this lethal lottery needs to stop now," he said.
The 20th Law Commission, in its report submitted on Monday, said the
administration of the death penalty in India is "fallible, vulnerable to
misapplication, and disproportionately" used against socially and economically
marginalised people. The Commission recommended that the death penalty be
abolished for all crimes other than terrorism-related offences and waging war
and hoped that the movement towards absolute abolition will be "swift and
irreversible".
(source: Deccan Herald)
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