[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 23




INDONESIA:

Australians on death row ask Indonesia to let them live



2 Australians on death row appealed to Indonesian president Joko Widodo on 
Sunday to let them live so they can continue helping fellow prisoners in a 
rehabilitation programme, their brothers said.

The kin of drug smugglers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan made a statement to 
the media after visiting the pair in Kerobokan prison on Bali island.

"We see and hear many prisoners doing courses go on to jobs and better lives. 
Our brothers' great wishes for the President is to allow them to continue this 
help, to rebuild the lives of many more Indonesians for many more years to 
come," Michael Chan told reporters outside the prison.

The statement comes after Indonesia authorities delayed their execution by up 
to a month, backtracking on an earlier pledge to put the 2 men before the 
firing squad by the end of February.

Australia's government has voiced strong opposition to the planned executions.

"Our brothers are very grateful for the support and kindness shown to them by 
so many people, and we are amazed at their strength and resilience during this 
stressful time," Michael Chan said.

"As they reflect on their past they are also thankful to the Indonesian 
government, the prison officials and many volunteers that have allowed them to 
create a holistic rehabilitation programme that is now the envy of most prisons 
worldwide," he added.

Chan and Sukumaran, who have been on death row since 2006, claim they have 
themselves been rehabilitated. But Widodo, who has vowed a tough approach to 
ending what he has called Indonesia's "drug emergency", rejected their appeals 
for clemency.

"Myu and Andrew love Indonesia, they have a great respect for the Indonesian 
people and its culture, and it was through the support of the Indonesian 
justice system that they were able to help set up many programmes that have 
helped a lot of Indonesians and has also helped better themselves, and they are 
very grateful for that", said Chinthu Sukumaran.

Widodo, a vocal supporter of capital punishment, in January authorised the 
execution of 6 convicted drug smugglers including 5 foreigners.

Chan and Sukumaran are among 7 foreigners -- including citizens from France, 
Ghana, Brazil and Nigeria -- who have lost their appeals for presidential 
clemency, the final hope of avoiding the firing squad.

(source: Yahoo News)

********************************

'Nobody consoled Marco': Last rites denied for prisoner executed before Bali 9 
duo



Indonesian authorities executed a Brazilian man last month without allowing a 
priest to perform the last rites as he waited for the firing squad.

The distressing mix-up, and horrific last minutes of Marco Archer Cardoso 
Moreira, were relayed to Fairfax Media by Cilacap priest Father Charles 
Burrows, who was supposed to be called upon to comfort the man.

Usually there is a time when the minister or spiritual director gets to go 
forward to console them. Nobody consoled Marco.

The account comes as the Brazilian government took the extraordinary step of 
refusing to accept the credentials of Indonesia's new ambassador in protest 
over its refusal to offer clemency to another of its citizens on death row, 
Rodrigo Gularte. Indonesia responded by recalling its ambassador-designate.

Moreira was executed on January 18, the last of 5 drug felons shot by firing 
squads on Nusakambangan, Indonesia's execution island that sits within sight of 
Cilacap.

"He had to be dragged from his cell crying and saying 'help me'," said Father 
Burrows.

"He actually excremented in his trousers".

The guards hosed him down but, says Father Burrows, he continued to weep "all 
the time up to his last minutes".

Moreira was a Catholic and Father Burrows was supposed to administer the 
sacrament of reconciliation and penance and the extreme unction. But there was 
a mix-up and Father Burrows was not allowed on the island.

"I kept telling them I wanted to be there. The wardens were very polite but the 
attorney wouldn't give me a letter to get on to the island. The Brazilian 
embassy was very upset. They told me nobody went forward to look after him.

"Usually there is a time when the minister or spiritual director gets to go 
forward to console them. Nobody consoled Marco."

Brazil is also deeply angry about the treatment of Gularte, who is a paranoid 
schizophrenic, and therefore should be exempt from execution under Indonesian 
law.

Gularte, 42, has been on death row since 2004 for smuggling 6 kilograms of 
cocaine into Indonesia in surf boards.

"This is one of the reasons why the clemency should be assessed case by case. 
There should not be a blanket rejection," said Gularte's Indonesian lawyer 
Ricco Akbar.

"If it was done case by case, it would be known that Rodrigo was suffering a 
mental illness. His clemency would not have been rejected in the first place."

Mr Akbar called on the "wise" President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, to 
reconsider the case.

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said clearance for Indonesia's representative 
would be delayed while Brasilia and Jakarta remained at loggerheads over 
Gularte's execution.

The blanket denial of clemency for drug convicts on death row by Mr Joko will 
be the subject of an appeal to the administrative court on Tuesday by the 
lawyers for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the 2 Australians on death row in 
Bali.

Fairfax Media revealed on Thursday that Mr Joko rejected their clemency 
applications without considering the supporting documentation, which included 
information on their rehabilitation and efforts to train and counsel hundreds 
of Indonesian prisoners in Kerobokan jail.

With Mr Joko saying on Friday that he would not bow to international pressure 
and that there would be no delay in the men's executions, the lawyers for the 
Australians said they would pursue their case for clemency with unbridled 
determination.

"There are plenty of reasons why we will never throw in the towel," said Julian 
McMahon, one of several barristers working on the case.

"We are fighting in court, at this stage the Administrative Court. Our 
government is working hard on other fronts. There is also an international 
aspect to this. Perhaps most importantly, civil society in Jakarta is certainly 
now very interested.

"It may only be a few days, but may be longer. This extra time might enable the 
governments to talk more, to look more deeply at all that is going on and see 
if some better outcome than killing reformed prisoners is an option."

(source: Sydney Morning Herald)






*****************************

Australian Tourists Voice Disapproval to Tourism Boycott



Australian tourists visiting Bali have expressed their disagreement to the 
tourism boycott, which is a mark of protest over the imminent executions of 
Bali 9 ringleaders, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

"I do not agree with the boycott because I still love Bali," Coally Ann, an 
Australian tourist stated on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Julia Ann, who is Coally's sister, also supports tourism in Bali.

"We will continue to support tourism in Bali," she noted.

However, they are protesting on humanitarian grounds against the execution 
sentence awarded to the 2 Australians.

"We do not agree with the death penalty. That is not correct because they are 
human beings," she noted.

Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were granted death sentence in 2006 for 
leading a drug trafficking group known as the Bali 9.

They were arrested in 2005 at an airport and hotel in Bali for smuggling 8.2 
kilograms of heroin.

"We have been following the current news. We are very sad about the death 
penalty," she stated.

The Australian government had appealed to the Indonesian government to spare 
the lives of the 2 citizens on death row.

The death penalty in Indonesia, especially imposed on drug offenders, does not 
contradict human rights and the international law, noted Desra Percaya, the 
Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations (UN).

The abolishment of death penalty is not a universal standard in human rights, 
and the discussion in the UN forum is still ongoing and has not yet reached a 
consensus, Desra noted.

"Every country has its unique challenges. The implementation of death penalty 
is the government's response to the unique challenges faced by Indonesia," the 
ambassador stated.

He also pointed out that the imposition of death penalty in Indonesia is not 
considered as extra-judicial killings or arbitrary executions that violate the 
human right norms.

The death penalty in Indonesia is an action that has been imposed through the 
legal process, he said.

"Indonesia praised the UN secretary general's effort to communicate directly 
with the government but deplored the approach, which is based on a narrow 
understanding," Desra remarked.

"This approach could impact the integrity of the UN secretary general as 
discussion on the issue of death penalty is still ongoing," he affirmed.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 
appealed to Indonesia not to execute the prisoners on death row for drug 
crimes, including the citizens of Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana, Indonesia, 
Nigeria, and the Philippines.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Ban had spoken to Indonesian Foreign 
Minister Retno Marsudi on Thursday "to express his concern at the recent 
application of capital punishment in Indonesia." "The UN opposes the death 
penalty under all circumstances," Dujarric noted in a statement on Friday.

"The secretary general has appealed to the Indonesian authorities that the 
executions of the remaining prisoners on death row for drug-related offenses 
should not be carried out," Dujarric stated.

The preamble of the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances, 1988, admits that drugs pose a serious threat to the 
health and welfare of human beings and adversely affect the economic, cultural, 
and political foundations of the society.

(source: The Bali Times)








BANGLADESH:

Hasina favours speedy punishment for Bangladesh arsonists



Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday called for "speedy" and 
"exemplary" punishment for arsonists and their backers in the strife torn 
country.

Ms. Hasina met senior officials and drew attention to the violence and anarchy 
that have been accompanying the blockade being enforced by the Bangladesh 
Nationalist Party (BNP)-led opposition, and said people must be saved from such 
anarchical activities, according to a bdnews24.com report.

"There should be speedy punishment (for) those caught red-handed... those 
instigating the incidents, those who are funding them, those who are making the 
bombs and supplying them," she said.

The opposition BNP and its allies - having boycotted the general elections held 
January 5, 2014 - have enforced a non-stop nationwide blockade since January 6, 
demanding fresh parliamentary polls under a non-party caretaker government 
system.

More than 100 people have been killed so far in the ensuing political violence, 
and most of them have been killed after firebomb attacks on public vehicles. 
Numerous strikes have crippled normal life in the country.

A number of cases have been filed across the country, of which at least 4 name 
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia as the key instigator of the turmoil.

The government has announced that it would be forming a special tribunal under 
the Anti-Terrorism Act to try these cases. Death sentence is the highest 
penalty for the guilty under that law.

(source: The Hindu)








IRAN----executions

12 Prisoners Executed in Iran



Iranian state media has reported about execution of 12 prisoners on Sunday 22 
February.

According to the Iranian State Broadcasting eight prisoners were hanged in the 
prison of Bandar Abbas (Southern Iran) on Sunday. One of the prisoners was 
charged with rape, while the 7 others were sentenced to death for drug-related 
charges. The Young Journalists Club, run by the authorities, quoted Hormozgan 
prosecutor saying that these prisoners were charged with trafficking of 1 ton 
of opium, heroin and hashish.

None of the prisoners were identified by name.

Official website of the Iranian Judiciary in the Markazi Province (South of 
Tehran) reported about execution of 4 prisoners convicted of drug-related 
charges in the prison of Arak.

3 of the prisoners were identified as "Mohammad M", "Ehsan J." and "Amir 
Hossein G." charged with participation in production of 59 kilograms and 68 
grams of the narcotic drug crystal. "Mohammad M." and "Ehsan J." were in 
addition charges with selling 2 and 13 kilograms of crystal that they had 
produced, respectively.

The 4th prisoner was identified as "Reza Z." charged with participation in 
possession and trafficking of 972 grams of heroin, said the report.

(saource: Iran Human Rights)

*********************

21 Prisoners Hanged in Iran During 48 Hours



21 prisoners in prisons from Adel Abad in Shiraz, Bam, and Bandar Abbas prisons 
were executed during last 48 hours. State-run sources are silent about these 
executions.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), 
during last 48 hours, 21 prisoners were executed by hanging in 3 prisons; Adel 
Abad in Shiraz, Bam, and Banda Abbas.

During last 48 hours, 9 prisoners with charges of drug related crimes and 
retributions were hanged in Bandar Abbas prison. 3 of them were from ward 1, 4 
of them from ward 7 and 2 from ward 2 of this prison. Names of executed 
prisoners who have been identified so far are as follows: Sajad Ghochany, 27, 
from Tehran, Mohammad Gholami, 33, from Tabriz, Mohammad Kazem Yazdani Doboron, 
55, from Mashhad, Alireza Razmi, 45, from Bushehr, Mehdi Shahdadi, 31, from 
Iranshahr, Mosa Nekoei Zadeh, 22, from Bandar Abbas, Ghasem Moradi Zadeh, 35, 
from Yazd.

Also according to HRANA's reporter's information, 9 prisoners were executed in 
Adel Abad prison, in Shiraz, whose identities is not known yet. They were 
accused with drug related crimes and retribution.

In addition, 3 prisoners, with drug related crimes, were executed during last 
48 hours in Bam Central Prison. They were named: Mohammad Hojat Abadi, Rasool 
Naderi, and Hossein Mir Dost whose father named Shah Bakhsh.

Additionally, HRANA has received numerous reports of 2 public executions in the 
last 48 hours. One of them was a prisoner with drug related crimes in Kozeh 
Garai Square in Shiraz, and the other one was Hamid Mohammadi, 27, from Haji 
Abad, accused with Rape, and was executed in Fish Market place in Bandar Abbas, 
but HRANA is still unable to independently verify these 2 reports.

(source: HRANA News Agency)

*******************

Iran executes juvenile offender



Iran reportedly executed Saman Naseem, a juvenile offender who was 17 years-old 
when sentenced to death, despite international pressure to halt the execution. 
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), it is unclear if the execution occurred 
on Thursday or Friday, but Naseem's family was asked to collect his body. Now 
22, Naseem was charged in July 2011 with "enmity against God" and "corruption 
on earth." The juvenile was arrested because of membership in Party For Free 
Life of Kurdistan after a battle with the Revolutionary Guards. One member of 
the Revolutionary Guard was killed and 3 others injured. Naseem reported he did 
not have access to a lawyer during the investigations and was tortured prior to 
confessing. Prior to execution, UN human rights experts and Amnesty 
International (AI) urged Iran to halt the execution. Iran is a signatory to the 
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and pursuant to Article 37(a) capital 
punishment is prohibited for persons below 18 years of age. However, the 
Islamic Penal Code permits the death penalty for juveniles under certain 
circumstances.

Much international pressure has been directed toward Iran in recent years for 
its use of the death penalty. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of 
Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran Ahmed Shaheed urged Iran in April 
to immediately halt the execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari. Jabbari was executed the 
following October despite international opposition. Last June former UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned Iran's use of the death 
penalty for juvenile offenders and called on authorities to halt the announced 
execution of Razieh Ebrahimi, who was 14 years old when sentenced to death. 
Also in June a group of independent UN human rights experts condemned Iran's 
execution of a political prisoner, calling for the country to end the death 
penalty.

(source: JURIST)

******************************

Meth Use 'Skyrocketing' in Iran Despite Executions, Police Raids



Methamphetamine production and the use of "hard drugs" are "skyrocketing" in 
Iran despite police raids and the potential of facing execution for certain 
drug crimes.

It is estimated that "2.2 million of Iran's 80 million citizens already are 
addicted to illegal drugs, including 1.3 million on registered treatment 
programs."

According to the Associated Press, drug use "numbers keep rising annually even 
though use of the death penalty against convicted smugglers has increased too." 
Executions resulting from drug conviction now represent "more than 9 out of 10 
executions" in Iran.

Narcotics officer Parviz Afshar said 2 meth labs appear for every one they shut 
down. And Majid Mirzaei, who manages a drug addict shelter in Tehran, argues 
that drug addition cannot be eliminated, but says it can be managed.

Mirzaei said: "When I set up this shelter authorities didn't support me. But 
after several years of hard work, they were convinced that it's better to 
provide care and shelter to addicts."

One of the reasons for the continued rise in drug use is their easy 
availability, via Afghanistan, which is "the region's top drug exporter."

In March 2014, Russia warned of the drug boom that would take place in 
Afghanistan once President Barack Obama followed through with pulling US troops 
out of that country. According to Iran's state-run PressTV, Russian drug tsar 
Viktor Ivanov claimed that even the "US House Foreign Affairs Committee [had] 
no counter-narcotics strategy for Afghanistan after international troops pulled 
out of the country."

By November, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "poppy cultivation" 
had reached a record high in 2014. And although they did not mention Obama's 
determination to pull out troops, they reported that "the uptick in production 
could be tied to increasing insecurity in Afghanistan."

(source: breitbart.com)








VIETNAM:

2 arrested in Hanoi for hiding major amount of meth inside festive food



Police in Hanoi on Saturday arrested 2 people for carrying hundreds of 
methamphetamine pills on a taxi.

Doan Van Thieu, 28, and Bui Thi Kim Oanh, 30, told police, who stopped their 
taxi for a random check around 2:45 am, that they were returning home after 
visiting some local pagodas as part of their Lunar New Year celebration.

When the officers demanded to check their red plastic bag, Oanh said that it 
was just a "festive bag" carrying lucky food and objects from the pagodas, 
including a traditional rice dessert and a pocket of salt.

Police however found drugs hidden inside the cake and the salt pocket. Some 
were also concealed inside a camera.

The pills had an estimated street value of around VND300 million (US$15,000), 
police said.

The 2 traffickers told police that they had been hired to transport the drugs 
by an unidentified person. They claimed that they had not been told where they 
would deliver the drugs to.

Police are investigating into the case.

Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. Those convicted of 
smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of 
methamphetamine face the death penalty.

The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal 
narcotics is also punishable by death.

(source: Thanh Nien News)








AUSTRALIA:

Australia should lead in abolishing the death penalty in the 
Asia-Pacific----Instead of quiet diplomacy, the government needs a principled, 
consistent, and more vocal opposition to the death penalty, whether or not the 
lives at stake are Australian.



As Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran face execution in Indonesia, there is much 
soul searching about what more Australia could do to save their lives. Last 
week, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and opposition foreign minister Tanya 
Plibersek made eloquent and impassioned speeches in Parliament, and, at a news 
conference in Bali, Sukumaran's mother movingly pleaded for her son's life.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Tony Abbott joined the condemnation: "We abhor 
the death penalty, we regard it as barbaric."

There is little evidence that the softly softly approach has been effective ... 
it seems the death penalty is making a resurgence in Australia's neighbourhood.

Australia is in a position to be leading the charge in encouraging Asia-Pacific 
countries to abolish the death penalty, yet so far it hasn't done so. If 
Australia wants to stop executions of its nationals in the future, the 
government should rethink the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 
traditionally low-key approach to capital punishment. Instead of quiet 
diplomacy, the government needs a principled, consistent, and more vocal 
opposition to the death penalty, whether or not the lives at stake are 
Australian.

There is little evidence that the softly softly approach has been effective. 
With five recent executions in Indonesia and more on the way, and a disturbing 
new interest in executions in Papua New Guinea, it seems the death penalty is 
making a resurgence in Australia's neighbourhood.

In PNG, after a moratorium of 60 years, the Attorney-General Dr Lawrence 
Kalinoe says the government will start implementing the death penalty this 
year. In recent years the PNG government has inched closer to executions by 
expanding the scope of crimes punishable by death, as well as the methods of 
execution. Fourteen people are currently on death row there. So far, neither 
Abbott nor Bishop have publicly registered concerns with the PNG government. 
Yet this is a country hugely dependent on Australian aid, where Canberra should 
be using its influence to press for the human rights of all Papuans.

Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China and Vietnam also execute people. For 
Australia's voice to carry more weight against executions of people such as 
Chan and Sukumaran, it's important that Australia publicly registers its 
opposition to death sentences wherever and whenever possible.

In revising its policy on the death penalty abroad, the government should 
consider the British government's strategy, which entails a comprehensive 
public agenda for it to push for its abolition. The strategy paper includes 
clear benchmarks and goals to guide British embassies in advocating against the 
death penalty in countries in which executions continue. In addition to public 
and private pressure on individual cases, the strategy also includes support 
for civil society groups to raise awareness, and for lawyers to bring legal 
challenges. Britain credits successes in Barbados, Uganda and Kenya, which have 
each taken steps to reduce the use of executions, as examples of its impact.

Australia too could earmark development assistance to aid local lawyers and 
civil society groups in their advocacy efforts towards the abolition of the 
death penalty.

Andrew Chan delivered a heartfelt message via Amnesty International to a vigil 
in Sydney: "Please don't let this just be about myself and Myu, but about 
others all over the world who need your help." Let's not wait until more people 
are in their situation for Australia to lift its game.

(source: Elaine Pearson is Australia director at Human Rights Watch; The Age)








MALAYSIA:

Fijian Drug Charge Woman Identified



The Fijian woman facing drug trafficking charges in Malaysia has been 
identified by the Fiji Sun.

Christin Nirmal, 26, of Narere in Nasinu is a mother of 3 - her eldest daughter 
is in Year 5 while her youngest son is merely 10 months old.

Her middle child lives with her estranged husband.

Christin's mother Nirmala Mariamm requested the Fiji Sun not to publish Ms 
Nirmal's photo because of the impact on the children.

Ms Mariamm is currently looking after 2 of the children.

She was at a loss yesterday to explain how her young daughter ended up in 
Malaysia.

"She was chatting with a South African man on Tagged (social networking site) 
for some months. He told her that he wanted to meet her and he purchased an 
open ticket from Fiji to Hong Kong and from there to Malaysia for Christin."

Ms Nirmal is understood to have stayed with the South African man in Hong Kong 
for 3 weeks.

"What we know is that he gave her sample school bags to take to Malaysia where 
another South African man was to pick it up from her. We have been told that 
Christin checked the bag and it was empty but when it was confiscated by the 
Malaysian customs, in another hidden compartment, they found some drugs," Ms 
Mariamm said.

"She is uneducated, having studied up till class 4 only. We are all very 
worried about her and don't know what will happen," an emotional Ms Mariamm 
said.

She said that given her own dire financial situation, she admitted she would 
not be able to financially support the children for long.

Ms Mariamm praised the Fijian Government for keeping the family updated with 
news about Christin. She said she was also thankful to Government for providing 
her daughter with consular assistance in Malaysia.

"I hope you understand why we are requesting that Christin's photo not be 
published. No one in our extended family knows that she has been arrested. Her 
daughter is in class 5 and seeing her mother's photo in the papers may have an 
impact on her."

Ms Nirmal will be appearing in court on March 17, and will be represented by 
Malaysian legal aid.

About 1.51 kilograms of methamphetamine was found at the Kuala Lumpur Airport 
while she was travelling from Hong Kong.

She is being held under Section 39 (B) of Malaysian Dangerous Drugs Act of 
1952.

Carrying more than 50 grams of methamphetamines, also known as ice, can warrant 
the death penalty in Malaysia, which with its neighbours, has strict anti-drug 
trafficking laws.

(source: The Fiji Sun)








PAKISTAN/SAUDI ARABIA:

Notes from the underground: Conned in Pakistan, convicted abroad



60-year-old Nazir Ahmad, a Pakistani on death row in Saudi Arabia's Braiman 
prison, frequently tells his wife in Pakistan of his fellow inmates' 
executions. Faced with the recent surge in beheadings of convicts in the 
Kingdom, it looks as if he is preparing her for his most likely fate.

"He tells me that people [in Saudi jails] are executed without any notice," 
says Nazir's wife Tahira Bibi. "They are not even allowed to call their 
families," she adds with a quivering voice while speaking to The Express 
Tribune by telephone from her home in Lahore's Walton Road area.

Nazir is one of the 18 Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for whom the 
Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a human rights law firm, is fighting for. The 
organisation has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC), urging it to 
remind the government of its responsibility to these men.

2 of them have already been beheaded. The remaining 16, who hail mostly from 
Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh, face the death penalty as 
well.

Since November 2014, 11 Pakistanis have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia.

"The men we are raising our voice for are the poorest of the poor, "says JPP 
spokesperson Shahab Siddiqi. "They were either framed or coerced into smuggling 
narcotics. They have no history of committing the crime for personal gain."

"Their ignorance and hopes for a better life have been misused," he adds.

For Nazir, it was a relative who persuaded him to go to Saudi Arabia for work. 
The relative told Nazir he had contacts in Islamabad and got him to pay for a 
passport and visa. Enticed by better prospects, Nazir decided to quit his job 
as a driver for a relative of a politician and agreed to move.

In 2006, Nazir went to Islamabad after a recruitment agent told him his ticket 
had been confirmed. Upon reaching the capital, however, people he had never 
seen before locked him up and forced him to swallow packets of heroin at 
gunpoint. Nazir was then shipped off to Saudi Arabia and told someone would 
meet him there to recover the drugs.

"Nazir phoned us from Islamabad before leaving. He told us that he would call 
once he reached Jeddah," recalls Tahira. "But we received no response for the 
next 3 to 4 days."

Nazir did call eventually, says Tahira. In tears, he broke the news to his 
family that he had been arrested.

"We were shocked to hear what happened. My husband is innocent. He was forced 
to take the drugs with him."

Tahira has spent the last 9 year, hoping that Nazir will return one day. But 
she is afraid that it may never happen.

"My sons have left their education to work to support the family. In our home, 
there is no happiness, even on Eid. My children are just sad and cry."

JPP Legal Director Maryam Haq calls for bringing Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi 
Arabia back home. "The government must bring these prisoners back," she says. 
"Their rights as citizens of Pakistan don't end at the border."

Haq points out that prisoners in Saudi Arabia are not provided a lawyer if they 
can't afford one.

"The accused, if he can't speak Arabic, depends solely on an interpreter, who 
may or may not translate correctly," she says. According to JPP officials, 
there has been an instance where an interpreter told a judge that the suspect 
had confessed even though the latter had denied the crime.

"As such, the Pakistan Embassy should provide legal assistance to nationals who 
are imprisoned abroad," Haq adds.

The bodies of those executed by Saudi authorities are also never returned to 
Pakistan. The men executed in the Kingdom are buried there only, JPP officials 
say.

"Why is it that these men are not stopped when they are in Pakistan?" asks Haq. 
"There must be a proper mechanism for investigating drug smuggling from 
Pakistan," she adds.

(source: The Tribune)