[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----Urgent Action 277/11 - Pakistani Man Faces Execution in China

[Rick Halperin]

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/uaa27711.pdf

UA: 277/11
Issue Date: 14 September 2011
Country: China

PAKISTANI MAN FACES EXECUTION IN CHINA
A Pakistani man, Syed Zahid Hussain Shah, 36, faces imminent execution in China. The Supreme
People's Court in Beijing has approved his death sentence and announced an execution date of 21
September.

On 19 March 2010, the Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court found Syed Zahid Hussain Shah
guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced him to death. At the same trial, the court sentenced four
other Pakistanis involved in the case to life imprisonment. The Shanghai High Court upheld the
verdict against Syed Zahid Hussain Shah, who was a jewelry importer/exporter, on 10 November 2010.
The Supreme People's Court approved the death sentence and scheduled execution by lethal injection
for 21 September 2011.

Syed Zahid Hussain Shah's family has said that he is not guilty of the charge against him, and that
he did not receive adequate consular assistance during his detention. His family has asked several
Pakistani officials to help, but were told there is little hope.

Syed Zahid Hussain Shah's relatives held a press conference in Islamabad on 9 September, during
which they told reporters that his business partners had falsely implicated him in the case. The
family also said they had sent letters to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President
Asif Ali Zardari to ask for help but that no one had answered these appeals. Pakistan's Advisor for
Human Rights told Amnesty International he has asked the President to intervene in the matter and to
request his Chinese counterpart delay the execution.

Please write immediately in English, Chinese or your own language:
- Calling on the Chinese authorities not to execute Syed Zahid Hussain Shah;
- Urging the Pakistan government to provide additional urgent consular assistance to Syed Zahid
Hussain Shah and do everything in its power to press the Chinese authorities to commute his death
sentence.
- Urging China's National People's Congress to introduce a legal procedure for clemency;
- Calling for an immediate moratorium on executions in China with a view to abolishing the death
penalty, as provided by UN General Assembly resolutions 62/149, 63/168 and 65/206.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 SEPTEMBER 2011 TO:

Supreme People's Court President
WANG Shengjun Yuanzhang
Zuigao Renmin Fayuan
27 Dongjiaomin Xiang
Beijingshi 100745
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Fax: 011 86 10 6529 2345
Salutation: Dear President

National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman
WU Bangguo Weiyuanzhang
Quanguo Renda Changwu Weiyuanhui Bangongting, 23 Xijiaominxiang
Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100805
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Fax: 011 86 10 6309 7934
Email: icc at npc.gov.cn
OR english at npc.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Chairman

And copies to:

President of Pakistan
Asif Ali Zardari
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 011 92 5192 04974

Ambassador Zhang Yesui
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
3505 International Place NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 202 495-2266
Fax: 1 202 495-2138
Email: chinaembpress_us at mfa.gov.cn

Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
No one sentenced to death receives a fair trial in China. There are significant gaps between the
law, practice and international commitments made by the Chinese government to international fair
trial standards. Allegations of torture are seldom investigated adequately. Many defendants are
convicted based on confessions they insist were extracted through torture. Defendants have also had
to prove themselves innocent, rather than be proven guilty; and have had limited access to legal
counsel.

The death penalty is applicable to at least 55 offences in China, including non-violent ones, such
as drug-related crimes. Statistics on the death penalty are a state secret, disclosure of which may
result in criminal punishment. Amnesty International estimates that China executes thousands of
people every year and certainly more than the rest of the world combined.

In January 2007, the practice of having the Supreme People's Court (SPC) review all death sentences
was restored. It had been suspended in 1982. All death sentences must now be reviewed by the SPC,
which has the power to approve the sentence or order a retrial. The Chinese authorities have
reported a drop in executions since the SPC resumed this review. Nevertheless, the application of
the death penalty remains shrouded in secrecy in China, making it impossible to make a full and
informed analysis or determine whether there has been a real reduction in the use of the penalty.

China provides no clemency procedures for condemned prisoners after they have exhausted their
appeals through the courts.

As a Pakistani national, Syed Zahid Hussain Shah has the right to seek consular assistance "without
delay," as required under article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). Under
the Convention the Pakistan authorities have the right to consular visits and correspondence and to
arrange legal representation for any of their citizens detained in China.

Name (s): Syed Zahid Hussain Shah (m)
Issue(s): Death penalty, Imminent execution, Unfair trial

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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
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan at aiusa.org
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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