Oct. 21
PAKISTAN:
More Action Needed! - Stop Execution of Man With Mental Disability (Pakistan:
UA 222/16)
Imdad Ali, a death row prisoner with a mental disability, is at imminent risk
of execution. Pakistan's Supreme Court rejected on 20 October his latest appeal
to halt the execution on the ground that he has paranoid schizophrenia. As a
result another execution warrant might be issued imminently.
Imdad Ali was arrested for the murder of a religious teacher in 2001 and
convicted in 2002 under 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code. In 2012, he was
diagnosed with "paranoid schizophrenia". Dr. Naeemullah Leghari, the head of
psychiatry at Nishtar Hospital in Multan who examined Imdad Ali, described his
condition in a medical report as "a chronic and disabling psychiatric illness"
that "impairs the person's rational thinking and decision-making capabilities."
International law clearly prohibits the use of the death penalty on people with
mental or intellectual disabilities.
On 20 October Imdad Ali's appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court, which does
not consider schizophrenia as sufficient grounds to halt the execution
according to Pakistani law. It is likely that another execution warrant - his
3rd since 2015 - will be issued imminently. He remains on death row in Vehari,
Punjab province. A mercy petition to Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain, who
has the direct authority to commute his death sentence, is still pending, and
has the power to save Imdad Ali's life.
The Pakistani Supreme Court has also rejected Imdad Ali's appeal previously in
2015, ruling that there was no evidence of his mental disability. However, the
Supreme Court's judgment shows that Imdad Ali's lawyer had not included the
2012 medical report diagnosing him with paranoid schizophrenia as evidence.
This oversight raises fair trial concerns.
1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
-- Urging the President of Pakistan to accept Imdad Ali's mercy petition and
commute his death sentence, reminding him that international law clearly
prohibits the use of the death penalty against people with mental or
intellectual disabilities;
-- Urging the authorities to re-establish the official moratorium on all
executions in the country as a 1st step towards the abolition of the death
penalty, in line with 5 UN General Assembly resolutions adopted since 2007;
-- Calling on them to ensure that any measures taken to combat crime do not
violate Pakistan's obligations under international human rights law and that
all safeguards guaranteeing the rights of those facing the death penalty are
respected. Contact these 2 officials by 2 December, 2016:
President of Pakistan
Honourable Mr Mamnoon Hussain
President's Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 920 8479
Salutation: Your Excellency
H.E. Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani
Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
3517 International Ct NW, Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 686 1534 I Phone: 1 202 243 6500 Ext. 2000 & 2001
Email: i...@embassyofpakistanusa.org
Salutation: Dear Ambassador
(source: Amnesty International USA)
BARBADOS:
No noose----Criminologist warns that hanging will not stop crime
A recent study by this country's Criminal Justice Unit shows that 80 % of
Barbadians support the retention of the death penalty on this country's statute
books.
However, Kim Ramsay, a senior researcher with the Government-run unit,
Wednesday night warned that this strong retentionist sentiment, which she
expects local politicians to pay attention to, "comes into conflict with the
broad jurisdiction of international human rights tribunals".
The island has been under pressure from international organizations such as
Amnesty International and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to do
away with the death penalty, which was deemed too harsh and said to be in
breach of international law.
Back in 2014, Government had announced plans to abolish the mandatory death
sentence for murder with Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite stating at the time
that he expected strong opposition to the plan, as many believe the death
penalty was an appropriate punishment.
Brathwaite had also promised that Government would engage the population in a
big public debate before the proposal was tabled in Parliament.
"Barbadians generally feel that once you commit murder you should forfeit your
lives, but that is until one of their family members is involved," Brathwaite
had said.
"I know it will be a battle but . . . . I believe that it is a better path for
the country," he added at the time.
However, the provision remains on the statute books and delivering a lecture
here last night on criminal justice, Ramsay revealed that an overwhelming
number of Barbadians want it to remain there.
"80 % of our Barbadians, based on a study we did, indicated that they want the
death penalty retained.
"So this retentionist sentiment, which obviously politicians have to pay
attention to, comes into conflict with the broad jurisdiction of international
human rights tribunals," she said, while warning that Britain has also been
waving a big stick over this island's trade.
Therefore, "'if you do not comply with what I say, then we start to pull away
things from you,'" she said in reference to pressure from the UK, while further
cautioning that "it puts us in a very precarious position".
Ramsay, a criminologist of 14 years experience, went on to suggest that this
was one of the reasons "why we have not had any executions since 1984".
She also explained why she differed with most Barbadians on the use of the
death penalty, which remains on the island's statute books as the automatic
punishment for convicted murderers, even though no one has been hanged here in
32 years.
"I don't believe that the death penalty is effective in reducing our criminal
problems," she said, adding that she was yet to see how executions of condemned
criminals would reduce crime in any jurisdiction.
"There is crime in any country, no matter what systems you have in place," she
insisted, while highlighting the fact that the Caribbean has one of the highest
homicide rates in the Americas.
"I have to agree with the international agencies, the international rights, the
treaties that we've signed on to," Ramsay said while adding that she was a firm
believer in dealing with problems at the root.
However, she argued that "a lot of our problems are societal problems.
"I think that is how we need to address crime, from a societal point, as
opposed to coming in at the back end," she said.
(source: Barbados Today)
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