[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 19



INDONESIA:

Bali 9: Indonesia unlikely to execute death row convicts for 'weeks or months', 
says vice-president Jusuf Kalla



2 Australian drug smugglers on death row in Indonesia may not be executed for 
some months, Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla says.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were listed for execution last month, but that 
has been delayed to allow the legal challenges of up to 11 death row inmates to 
finish.

The men's lawyers are starting a court appeal against their execution today and 
others due to be executed with them have separate challenges underway.

The Australians' team will challenge the president's blanket refusal to grant 
clemency for drug offenders.

The appeal was adjourned last week after lawyers for the president were denied 
authorisation to represent him because they turned up without complete 
paperwork.

3 judges will hear both sides put their up their best arguments but a result 
may not be delivered until a later date.

Mr Kalla conceded in an interview with the Reuters new agency that it could be 
"weeks or maybe months" until Indonesia's courts decide on the last-minute 
appeals of the condemned inmates, who are mostly foreigners.

He said Indonesia was more cautious in handling the legal appeals following 
diplomatic efforts to save the prisoners.

"We will always hear and consider opinions not only from Australia but also 
France and Brazil," Mr Kalla said.

"That is why we are very careful in ... following the process of the law."

He said: "We're waiting for the decision of the courts," adding it could take 
"weeks or maybe months".

Last week, Indonesia's attorney-general Muhammad Prasetyo told Indonesian 
journalists the next round of executions would be carried out once all of the 
condemned inmates had finished their appeals.

Chan and Sukumaran are among a group of 11 drug offenders due to face the 
firing squad.

They were transferred from their Bali prison early this month to the 
Nusakambangan island prison off Java, in preparation for their execution.

Australia continues calls for mercy for Bali 9 death row duo

5 foreigners were among 6 people executed last month, the 1st executions since 
president Joko Widodo took office in October.

Australia has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran, 33, and 
Chan, 31, but Mr Widodo has refused to budge.

He has turned down an offer of a 1-off prisoner exchange and to have the 
Australian Government bear the cost of the convicts' serving life sentences.

4 death row inmates have appealed against their sentences after Mr Widodo 
rejected their clemency pleas late last year.

Mr Widodo has pledged no mercy for drug offenders, saying Indonesia faces a 
"drug emergency". The country is a major destination for drugs trafficked in 
the region.

Mr Kalla said relations with Brazil - whose citizens are among the group due to 
face a firing squad - had been harmed and Indonesia was now reviewing all its 
military contracts with Latin America's largest economy.

"We're not reviewing contracts with other countries because Australia and the 
Netherlands, they did not harm our diplomatic situation, like Brazil," he said, 
referring to Brazil's refusal to let Indonesia's envoy take part in a 
credentials ceremony.

Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after 
Indonesia executed their citizens for drug offences.

A 2nd Brazilian national is among a 2nd group of prisoners due to be executed 
soon in Indonesia. Rodrigo Gularte's family has pleaded for clemency on the 
grounds of mental illness.

Others facing imminent execution on the prison island of Nusakambangan include 
citizens of France, the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia.

Indonesia resumed executions for drug trafficking in 2013 after a 5-year gap.

(source: ABC news)

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

Bali 9 executions: Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in legal action to prevent 
execution



Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran and others facing execution in Indonesia could 
still launch multiple legal actions to delay or prevent their executions, says 
an Australian legal expert based in Hong Kong.

Dr Daniel Pascoe, from the School of Law at the City University of Hong Kong, 
has also flagged the possibility that Indonesia, which argues fiercely for its 
sovereign right to carry out the death penalty, may be in breach of 
international treaties.

Dr Pascoe has written a paper outlining grounds for new legal challenges to 
save the death-row prisoners, in addition to the action that is currently afoot 
in the State Administrative Court of Jakarta.

That action, to be heard today, argues that President Joko Widodo did not give 
proper consideration when in January he wholesale denied clemency to 64 
death-row drug runners, including Chan and Sukumaran.

The Australians' legal team in Indonesia, led by Todung Mulya Lubis, says 
President Widodo showed a poor sense of justice and procedural unfairness in 
hastily dismissing all the clemency appeals.

Dr Pascoe, who has written extensively on death penalty law in South-East Asia, 
goes further.

He sees grounds for an international challenge, given that in 2006 Indonesia 
became a signatory to the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights, which states that anyone "sentenced to death shall have the right to 
seek pardon or commutation of the sentence".

He said that President Widodo's blanket rejections of clemency without 
considering each prisoner's individual circumstances "results in a violation of 
Indonesia's international obligations".

Dr Pascoe notes that a number of cases relating to the death penalty - 
including cases taken on behalf of members of the Bali 9 - and challenges even 
to the method of execution itself have been heard and failed.

But he argues there are several possible Constitutional Court actions that 
could drag out the cases, potentially for years.

One is that most prisoners spend long years on death-row, which could go 
against the Constitution???s Articles 28G (2) and 28H (1), which set out the 
right "to be free from torture of inhuman or degrading treatment" and "the 
right to physical and mental wellbeing".

One problem with this action is that if the Constitutional Court agreed, it 
would not help the person appealing the case, because the ruling would apply 
from the date of the decision.

This means individuals have been reluctant to take this legal course, because 
they would not benefit from it.

But Dr Pascoe argues such a case, which would presumably see international 
witnesses brought to testify about the mental anguish of being on death-row, 
would see "heavy moral and political pressure" falling on the President to 
grant clemency.

Another potential challenge arises from 2010 amendments designed to streamline 
the clemency process. The amendments mandate a strict one-year time limit to 
apply for clemency after the legal process has exhausted.

He says this could potentially be challenged in the Constitutional Court by 
arguing that the 1-year limit "inhibits the ability of a prisoner to make an 
effective petition (to the President)".

This could be challenged on the basis of Article 28A in the Indonesian 
Constitution, which sets out the "Right to Life and to Defend Life and 
Existence'.

Dr Pascoe cites numerous international treaties to which Indonesia is a 
signatory, which safeguard the rights of those facing execution.

A final ground for challenge relates to the Peninjaun Kembali, or PK, the 
extraordinary judicial review by the Supreme Court, which every prisoner is 
entitled to apply for after being sentenced to death.

Historically, every prisoner was only allowed to apply for one PK, and it had 
to be on the grounds of new evidence or an error at law by sentencing judges.

The nature of the PK has changed after the Constitutional Court in 2014 struck 
out a law limiting a person to only one PK. Prisoners have also used the 
hearings to present arguments about rehabilitation.

"The ability to have more than one extraordinary case ... if the requisite 
grounds can be found, has the potential to delay execution even further, 
allowing rehabilitative and political grounds for clemency more time to 
develop," writes Dr Pascoe.

All this lends some hope to the 2 Australians and the others who have been 
listed for the firing squad.

Even if today's hearing fails, expect to see new legal efforts made along these 
lines.

Indonesia has been inconsistent on the entire execution process and it remains 
to be seen whether it will tolerate new cases.

All that can be relied on are the words of Attorney-General HM Prasetyo, who 
said last Friday: "We are waiting for all the legal action (to conclude) 
because we don't want any trouble afterwards."

(source: news.com.au)








EGYPT:

Egypt gives 22 Morsi supporters death penalty



22 supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have been sentenced to 
death by an Egyptian court.

The sentence, which was passed on Wednesday, was in relation to an attack on a 
police station in the town of Kerdasa on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital 
Cairo which claimed the life of one police officer, AFP reported.

The attack took place on July 3, 2013, the day Egypt's military chief Abdel 
Fattah al-Sisi, who is currently the president of the country, announced 
Morsi's dismissal.

The court's verdict will be confirmed or commuted on April 20 and the 
defendants have the right to appeal.

In Egypt, death sentences must be approved by the country's highest Muslim 
religious authority, the Grand Mufti, who can revise verdicts, although the 
final decision is issued by the court itself.

On Monday, an Egyptian court condemned the leader of the banned Brotherhood, 
Mohamed Badie, and 13 other senior members to death.

The 14 were found guilty of planning attacks against the state. Among the 
convicts were Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson, Mahmoud Ghozlan, former 
Kafr-Sheikh governor, Saad El-Hossainy, and preacher, Salah Sultan.

In November 2013, the Egyptian government enlisted Muslim Brotherhood as a 
terrorist organization.

(source: Pres TV)



SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Saudi Arabia Has Already Beheaded Half the People It Did in 2014



The government of Saudi Arabia executed t3 people on Tuesday via beheadings. 
The total number of beheadings in the strict Muslim country totals 48 in 2015 
already, more than 1/2 the total beheadings in 2014.

The government beheaded 87 people in 2014. Human rights organization Amnesty 
International claimed the country "is well on track to far surpass its previous 
annual execution records," as on March 11, Saudi Arabia executed 3 people to 
put the number at 44. Only 11 people were put to death between January and 
March in 2014.

"This unprecedented spike in executions constitutes a chilling race to the 
bottom for a country that is already among the most prolific executioners on 
the planet," declared Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty 
International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.

On March 11, officials executed men from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen for 
drug-related offenses. Of the 3 men on Tuesday, a Pakistani national was 
executed on drug charges.

"The fact that around half of the executions carried out so far this year were 
for drug-related offences contradicts the Saudi Arabian authorities' claims at 
the United Nations Human Rights Council that the death penalty is imposed for 
only the most serious crimes," continued Boumedouha. "This claim is far from 
the truth, as international standards are clear that this means crimes 
involving intentional killing."

Saudi Arabia implements Sharia law. Death penalty offenses include rape, 
murder, armed robbery, apostasy, and drug trafficking. 2 Saudis were also put 
to death on Tuesday, but not for drugs:

Najr bin Farajal Azmial Otaibi, a Saudi, was put to death in the western city 
of Taif for stoning and caning to death another man, the ministry said in a 
statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Another Saudi, Moeid bin Ali bin Moeidal Saadal Qahtani, was beheaded by the 
sword in Eastern Province for gunning down a man.

The ministry added that the execution of both Saudis was delayed until the 
children of their victims came of age to decide whether the sentences should be 
carried out.

But the high number of executions under the new leader, King Salman, could be 
to show citizens that he can keep people safe and to show off his power.

"The Saudi authorities want to show everyone they are strong, people can rely 
on them to keep the security and the safety in the kingdom," a source told AFP.

In February, the Saudi government lashed out at critics who compared them to 
the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), who also behead their victims in public. The 
country received loud international backlash after a video surfaced of 3 men 
beheading a woman in the middle of Mecca. They dragged her out into the street 
as she screamed her innocence. Interior Ministry spokesman Major General 
Mansour al-Turki told NBC News the punishments are not similar, since the 
Islamic State "has no legitimate way to decide to kill people."

"When we do it in Saudi Arabia, we do it as a decision made by a court," he 
explained. "The killing is a decision, I mean it is not based on arbitrary 
choices, to kill this and not to kill this. When you kill somebody without 
legitimate basis, without justice system, without court, that is still a crime 
whether you behead them or kill [them] with a gun."

In August 2014, Amnesty International reported the Saudi kingdom executed a 
person "almost every day" during the month. The charity claimed the kingdom 
carried out 22 executions "between August 4 and August 22, compared to 17 
executions between January and July" of 2014. In total, the kingdom executed 87 
people in 2014, compared to the 78 in 2013.

(source: breitbart.com)








BOTSWANA:

Botswana MP calls for use of lethal injection for death row inmates



Botswana Member of Parliament Kefentse Mzwinila on Wednesday called on the 
government to use lethal injection for those who have been handed the death 
penalty.Mzwinila made the proposal when debating the Ministry of Defence, 
Justice and Security budget proposal.

He argued that although he supported the death penalty, there was need to make 
the process tolerable.

Currently those who have been condemned to death are executed by hanging.

Mzwinila said execution by hanging was traumatizing to officers given the task 
of hanging those who have been condemned to death.

There have been calls from the international community for Botswana to abolish 
the death penalty and the government has promised that to consult the nation 
through a national referendum before deciding to scrap death penalty.

(source: Star Africa)




IRAN----execution

A Prisoner Hanged in Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz



A prisoner, who had been charged with drug related crime, was executed in the 
prison of Adel Abad, in Shiraz.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), 
on 15th March, "Farshid Jafari", a prisoner of drug related crimes in the 
prison of Adel Abad in Shiraz, was executed by hanging.

His 1st court verdict had been issued by the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, and 
that verdict was precisely upheld by the Supreme Court which was carried out 
after the administrative procedure on 15th March.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)

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

UN to fund Iran anti-drugs programme despite executions of offenders ---- 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime criticised for planning new 5-year aid 
deal with Tehran, which continues to use death penalty for narcotics offences



The UN anti-drug agency is finalising a multimillion-dollar funding package, 
including European money, for Iran's counter-narcotics trafficking programmes, 
despite the country's high execution rate of drug offenders.

Iranian authorities have hanged at least 2 people a day this year for drug 
offences, according to the human rights group Reprieve, which works for the 
abolition of death penalty.

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also warned 
this week that the Islamic republic continues to execute more people per capita 
than any country. At least 753 people were hanged last year in Iran, of whom 
more than 1/2 were drug offenders.

Reprieve and a number of other organisations have repeatedly urged the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to stop funding Iran's anti-narcotics 
campaign until Tehran ends its use of capital punishment for drug-related 
offences.

But despite their concerns, the UNODC is agreeing a new 5-year deal with 
Iranian officials. Reprieve says its research shows that millions of dollars of 
support to Iran can be directly linked to the arrest and execution of thousands 
of people, including children. Iran has a notorious record of juvenile 
executions.

"Iran has hanged more than a hundred so-called drug offenders this year, and 
the UN has responded by praising the efficiency of the Iranian drug police and 
lining them up a generous 5-year funding deal," said Maya Foa, strategic 
director of Reprieve's death penalty team.

The UNODC seems to be isolated and out of step with other UN agencies----Danny 
Kushlick, Transform Drug Policy Foundation

"The lion's share of this funding is set to come from European governments, who 
continue to condemn the death penalty while funding drug raids where those 
caught are hanged from cranes in public," she said. "This is a costly and 
untenable hypocrisy, and the time has come for European countries to make their 
counter-narcotics assistance strictly conditional on the states which receive 
it abolishing the death penalty for drug offences."

The UNODC confirmed to the Guardian that it was finalising a country 
partnership programme with Iran. The agency, however, refused to reveal which 
countries were contributing to the upcoming aid package.

"The funding is provided for two distinct areas," said David Dadge of the 
UNODC. "The first is that we are strengthening the capacities to interdict the 
illicit drugs but the country partnership programme also has a very strong 
social component. The focus is on prevention and treatment and that's got the 
support of numerous NGOs as well."

Faced with human rights concerns, an increasing number of European countries 
have stopped funding the Iranian campaign, including the UK, Denmark and 
Ireland. France and Norway continue to fund, Reprieve said, but it was not 
clear if other countries that have previously given money, such as Italy, 
Norway and Belgium, were part of the new deal.

Iran is a neighbour to Afghanistan, a leading producer and supplier of the 
world's drugs, and faces big challenges at home with a young population 
susceptible to a variety of cheap and abundant addictive drugs. Critics, 
however, say Iran's use of death penalty in this regard has done little, if 
anything, to address the issue.

Reprieve, which has monitored Iran's anti-drugs behaviour closely, said a 
15-year-old Afghan boy, identified as Jannat Mir, was hanged in 2014 for 
allegedly moving heroin across the border from Afghanistan to Iran.

During the period the Afghan national was in Iranian custody, the UNODC was 
co-funding a $5.4m (3.6m pounds) project that included providing Iran with 
training to officers and drug detection dogs and vehicles, Reprieve said.

Danny Kushlick from the UK-based Transform Drug Policy Foundation said the 
application of the death penalty is the result of the policy of the global drug 
war that, he added, serves to dehumanise all those involved in the trade and 
use of prohibited drugs.

"The UNODC seems to be isolated and out of step with other UN agencies," he 
said. "It is the responsibility of all member states to reassert the UN 
principles of security, development and human rights as the foundation of all 
programmes emerging from the UN."

(source: The Guardian)








MALAYSIA:

Malaysia Changes made to clarify punishment for apostasy, Kelantan MB says



Kelantan has revised the English version of the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment 
II 1993 (Amendment 2015), which has caused confusion on the punishment for 
apostasy. The state's Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob said to ensure there is 
no confusion, the English version, the death penalty mentioned will now be 
replaced with "hudud", as stated in the Bahasa Malaysia version.

"Before I wind up, a correction must be made in a speech yesterday in which the 
amendments refer to the sentence for irtidad and riddah (apostate).

"When corrected, Clause 23 which deals with cases of irtidad and riddah, the 
death penalty word will be replaced with hudud," he said.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Bahasa Malaysia version, apostasy, if 
convicted under the amendments, was punishable with imprisonment. But the 
English version stated that while the immediate punishment was imprisonment, 
execution was possible if the apostate did not repent.

Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah meanwhile said there 
was no contradiction in the 2 versions because hudud used in the Malay-language 
edition also meant a death sentence. He said the offenders would certainly face 
the death penalty if they refused to repent according to the Islamic law.

"There's no difference. It reality it is the same. Punishment for apostasy is 
death penalty. Hudud punishment for apostasy is death. It is just that the word 
used was different. "So, we have adjusted... using 'hudud' in English as well. 
Just so that no one is confused," he said.

(source: The Malaysian Insider)








PAKISTAN----executions

11 more death row inmates hanged across Punjab



As many as 11 more convicts were hanged at various prisons of Punjab on 
Wednesday taking the number of executions over the past 2 days to 23.

President Mamnoon Hussain stayed the execution of Shafqat Hussain to 
investigate whether he was under age when he committed his crime. Meanwhile, 
the sentences of two prisoners have been stayed.

The latest round in Punjab brings to 50 the total number of convicts hanged 
since the government resumed capital punishment in December after the Peshawar 
school attack. The partial lifting of the moratorium, which began in 2008, only 
applied to those convicted of terrorism offences, but was last week extended to 
all capital offences.

In Faisalabad, Saeed Ahmad and Shafqat Ali were hanged at the district jail. 
They had been awarded the death penalty by a district court over a double 
murder committed on March 23, 1998 in Nankana Sahib.

However, the execution of Ahsan Ilyas was stayed after his family submitted a 
settlement deal. Ahsan killed a policeman in the Tandlianwala area.Similarly, 
two more death row prisoners were executed at District Jail Jhang. One of them, 
Ghulam Muhammad, had killed his brother-in-law, Mustafa in 2000 over a family 
dispute, with Zakir Hussain killing Zulfiqar over the custodianship of a shrine 
in 1998.

In Rawalpindi, 2 death row inmates - Shaukat and Muhammad Shabbir - were hanged 
for murdering a person over enmity. But the hanging of Qadeer Ahmed was 
postponed as the 2 sides struck a settlement.

A murder convict, Tahir Bashir, was also hanged at Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore. He 
had shot dead Arshad Ali in Sabzazar over a minor dispute in 2000. It was the 
1st execution of a death row prisoner in Lahore in a case not involving 
terrorism charges after the government lifted the moratorium on the death 
penalty.

Also, Asad Khan, who shot dead 3 people including a woman in Khushab over a 
marriage dispute in 2002, was executed in Attock.Another killer Ahmed Nawaz of 
Chakrala was executed at Mianwali???s Central Jail. He had been sentenced to 
death for killing a person in 1998.

Meanwhile, execution of another convicted person, Shafqat Hussain, set to be 
executed on Thursday (today) at Karachi jail, was delayed for an indefinite 
period after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali appealed to the president to 
review the death penalty.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon had also appealed to President 
Mamnoon Hussain to review his decision on the mercy petition of condemned 
prisoner, Shafqat Hussain.Meanwhile, the execution of Mandi Bahauddin???s Azhar 
Abbas was also stayed in Gujrat jail.

(source: The News)

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

Pakistan says executions won't impact EU trade deal: FO



Pakistan firmly stated on Thursday that lifting the moratorium on death penalty 
would not impact the lucrative trade deal, GSP plus with the European Union.

"This issue will not impact the EU GSP plus status for Pakistan," Foreign 
Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said, during her weekly press briefing in 
Islamabad, according to Radio Pakistan.

The EU granted Pakistan "GSP+" status in 2014 conditional on Pakistan enacting 
certain commitments on human rights. The deal means firms pay no tax on certain 
categories of goods exported to the 27-nation bloc for 10 years.

Responding to the European Union's concerns on capital punishment in Pakistan, 
the spokesperson said that it is not a violation of international human rights 
law.

"Pakistan has its own Constitution and legal system which contains death 
penalty within the parametres of international laws," Aslam said.

"It is the fundamental right of the State to protect the lives of its people," 
she added.

The moratorium was partially lifted following the December 16 terrorist attack 
on the Army Public School, and sentences were carried out for those convicted 
in terror cases. So far, nearly two dozen convicts have been executed.

The government recently decided to also lift the moratorium for those on death 
row for non-terror convictions.

"According to Article 6 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
every human being has the right to live and that this right should be protected 
by law. The actions that Pakistan is taking are in pursuance to this article in 
order to protect the lives of the people," Aslam upheld.

The spokesperson said Pakistan is engaged with the European Union and clarified 
its perspective on the matter.

Aslam maintained the European Union also understands Pakistan's position under 
which it has removed the moratorium on death sentence.

The EU called on Pakistan to reinstitute the moratorium and to respect fully 
all its international obligations, in particular the principle of fair trial.

The EU is against capital punishment in all cases and without exception, and 
has consistently called for its universal abolition.

The Union also recalled that Article 6(5) of the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights, to which Pakistan is a party, specifically 
prohibits the use of the death sentence for crimes committed by persons below 
18 years of age.

Mumbai attacks case

Shifting her focus to the Mumbai attack case, the spokesperson said the trial 
is continuing and Pakistan wants to see culmination of this process at the 
earliest.

"The trial got delayed not because of Pakistan but because New Delhi had not 
given access to our judicial commission to examine witnesses in India," Aslam 
said.

She further said the trial in the Samjhota terror attack in which several 
Pakistanis were killed has not yet started.

"We should not have double standards in acts of terrorism," she upheld.

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

Shafqat's execution halted for 30 days



A last-minute heartrending appeal by the family has been heard. The hanging of 
Shafqat Hussain, a young man convicted of murder, was halted hours before he 
was to be executed at dawn on Thursday.

In the early hours of Wednesday, 9 more condemned prisoners were executed in 
prisons across Punjab taking the number of convicts hanged over the past 2 days 
to 21, as the European Union condemned the executions and called upon Pakistan 
to restore a moratorium on the death penalty.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan requested President Mamnoon Hussain 
through the office of the prime minister to stay Shafqat's execution for 30 
days so that a controversy over his age was resolved.

"We have learnt from multiple sources that the execution has been stayed," said 
Shahab Siddiqi, the communication specialist for the Justice Project Pakistan, 
which has been campaigning against the hanging. "I personally handed over a 2nd 
mercy petition to an official of the Presidency at 11:30pm [Wednesday]."

A senior official at the Karachi Central Jail, where Shafqat is incarcerated, 
confirmed to The Express Tribune that the execution has been delayed. "We are 
100% sure that he would not be hanged today," said the official.

Lawyers for Shafqat say he was just 14 in 2004, when he was burnt with 
cigarettes and had fingernails removed until he confessed to the killing of a 
7-year-old boy in a Karachi neighbourhood.

On Wednesday, his family shared with the media a 'birth certificate' which 
'confirms' that Shafqat was a juvenile when condemned to death by an 
anti-terrorism court. The death sentence cannot be used against a defendant 
under the age of 18 when the crime was committed.

"For God's sake don't deprive me of Shafqat, he is my last child. He is 
innocent," his mother, Makhani Begum, told a news conference in Muzaffarabad, 
the city Shafqat hails from. Shafqat's elder brother Manzoor Ahmed, younger 
sister and Justice Project representative Yasir Sahbaz were also present at the 
conference.

"Oh, my Allah, save my Shafqat from falling victim to injustice," Makhni 
wailed, raising her hands in prayer. His brother begged for a change of heart. 
"I request them, in the name of Allah, and in the name of humanity, to stop his 
execution," he said.

The news conference came a day after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan 
told lawmakers in the National Assembly that Shafqat's scheduled hanging should 
not be 'politicised'. He asked rights groups campaigning against the execution 
to come up with a proof of Shafqat's age within 36 hours.

On Wednesday morning, 9 condemned murderers were executed in different jails of 
Punjab. Officials confirmed to The Express Tribune that Shafaqat Ali and 
Muhammad Saeed were hanged in the Central Jail Faisalabad; Zakir Hussain and 
Ghulam Muhammad were executed in the District Jail Jhang; Shaukat Ali, Muhammad 
Shabbir, Talib Hussain and Rabnawaz were sent to the gallows at Rawalpindi's 
Adiala Jail; while Asad Khan was executed the District Jail Attock.

The European Union condemned the mass executions and urged Pakistan to restore 
a moratorium on the death penalty. "The EU calls on Pakistan to reinstitute the 
moratorium and to respect fully all its international obligations, in 
particular the principle of fair trial," said a statement issued by the EU 
spokesperson.

The statement said the 28-nation bloc considers death penalty a 'cruel and 
inhuman' punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent against crime and which 
makes any miscarriage of justice irreversible. "The European Union is opposed 
to capital punishment in all cases and without exception, and has consistently 
called for its universal abolition," the statement added.

"Contrary to the government of Pakistan's policy that only clearly identified 
terrorists would be executed, convicts not sentenced on terrorist charges are 
being executed," the EU noted.

The EU recalls that Article 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, to which Pakistan is a party, specifically prohibits the use 
of the death sentence for crimes committed by persons below 18 years of age. 
(With additional reporting by our correspondents in Faisalabad, Jhang, 
Rawalpindi and Attock)

(source for both: Tribune)

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

Saulat Mirza makes grave allegations against MQM hours before hanging



In a televised message, Saulat Mirza, the death row inmate and former Muttahida 
Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker, has made startling disclosures and grave 
allegations against Altaf Hussain-led-MQM, hours before his scheduled hanging 
at 5:30AM Thursday.

Saulat Mirza was handed down the death sentence on May 24, 1999 for killing the 
MD KESC Shahid Hamid. Shortly after the confession Wednesday night, Machh jail 
officials told the media that the scheduled hanging on March 19 has been 
postponed for 72 hours.

The jail superintendent confirmed that they have received a written order to 
halt the execution.

Mirza, in his video confession, said the order to kill the MD KESC had been 
passed on to him by Babar Ghauri, the then MNA of MQM. Mirza said the MQM chief 
Altaf Hussain used to carry his messages through Babar Ghauri.

Saulat Mirza said after executing the murder when he came into the grips of 
law, the MQM disowned him and threw him away like a used tissue paper.

He said whenever any party worker started to enjoy fame and popularity in 
public, it made the party chief Altaf Hussain upset and he removed them from 
the scene one way or the other.

Saulat Mirza took the names of former MQM leaders Azeem Tariq and Mustafa Kamal 
as examples. Azeem Tariq was killed on the orders of Altaf Hussain and Mustafa 
Kamal was humiliated to such a level that he had to pack his bags and leave 
this country, he added.

The former MQM activist also said that the party through Governor Sindh 
provides shelter to criminal MQM workers. He appealed to the government, 
saying: "I am not making an appeal for condoning my death sentence. I only 
appeal to the government to extend my death penalty for some time."

Saulat Mirza said such an extension would allow him time to make more 
disclosures which may be helpful to the authorities to take appropriate actions 
and help bring peace to Karachi.

He said a lot of people who are either part of the MQM or want to join it in 
future must take some lesson from him who has been made an example of horror 
for all.

Saulat Mirza said he seeks forgiveness from the nation for whatever he did 
after being brainwashed by MQM.

Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, leader Babar Ghauri and a spokesman of 
Governor House dismissed the allegations hurled at them, calling them a 
conspiracy to defame the party.

(source: The News)

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

Death penalty ban lifted, Christians sense trouble



Pakistan's re-instated death penalty could mean trouble for followers of 
Christ. But, indigenous missionaries aren't backing down.

"Every leader I met, every Bible student I met, they knew that death could be a 
reality," notes Sarla Mahara of Christian Aid Mission, your link to indigenous 
missions.

"And yet, they're committed to serving the Lord."

Death penalty: unbanned

In December, Pakistani officials lifted a 7-year moratorium on capital 
punishment to rebuke masterminds of the fatal Peshawar school attack.

"They were trying to bring justice to those victims and have the terrorists 
face the consequences," explains Mahara. "The whole country was just enraged 
for these actions from the Taliban."

The death penalty moratorium was initially lifted for cases specifically 
related to terrorism. Nearly 50 convicts have been executed since December. 
However, in the rush to punish terrorists, Mahara notes, the government is 
actually putting more people at risk.

The lift was expanded last week for ALL capital offense crimes, not just those 
connected to terrorism. That means Christians accused of blasphemy or apostasy 
- converting from Islam to another religion - will be put to death.

Pakistani Christians at-risk

Amnesty International estimates Pakistan's "death row" holds roughly 8,000 
inmates. Among these prisoners are falsely-accused Christians like Asia Bibi, 
whose multiple appeals for justice have fallen on deaf ears.

According to Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton, blasphemy 
accusations are often used to persecute Pakistani Christians.

"If you have a property dispute, if you have some kind of a relational dispute, 
you can simply accuse somebody of blasphemy and they get locked up for years 
even if there's no evidence, even if there's no case against them," Nettleton 
told MNN last fall.

(source: Mission Network News)

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

President stays Shafqat Hussain's execution: source



On the eve of the scheduled execution of death row convict Shafqat Hussain, 
President Mamnoon Hussain late on Wednesday ordered to postpone the hanging 
upon appeals forwarded to him by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Sindh 
Home Minister Sharjeel Memon.

Sources told Geo News that Nisar had personally forwarded the application to 
the president seeking some more time to conduct thorough investigation into the 
matter.

President Mamnoon reportedly stayed the hanging for an indefinite period of 
time approving the appeal.

Shafqat, aged 14 at that time, had allegedly murdered a child in 2001 and was 
sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2004. Mercy appeals for 
Shafqat were rejected by the high court in 2006, Supreme Court in 2007 and the 
presidency in 2012.

The question regarding Shafqat being a juvenile has recently been raised but 
only after the court proceedings and his mercy appeals were rejected by the 
presidency and various courts.

(source: geo.tv)

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

Shafqat Hussain dodges the gallows again



After protests from civil society on the roads and on social media, and pleas 
from Shafqat Hussain's family, the controversial execution was delayed a 2nd 
time just 5 hours before the hanging time.

According to sources, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar requested President 
Mamnoon Hussain to delay the execution. The president, while acknowledging that 
no innocent should be unduly executed, allowed the delay.

Earlier in the day, the family of Shafqat Hussain appealed to the government 
and judiciary to save the death row convict from his execution which is 
scheduled to take place at dawn on Thursday.

In 2001, Shafqat had allegedly murdered a child named Umair, and was sentenced 
to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2004. He was 14-years-old at the time. 
Mercy appeals for Shafqat were rejected by the high court in 2006, Supreme 
Court in 2007 and the presidency in 2012.

Shafqat's mother Makhni Begum, along with her daughter Samira bibi, held a 
press conference on Wednesday during which she claimed that her son was 
innocent. She said three suspects had been arrested in the case, but only her 
son was convicted while the other two were let go.

Makhni Begum further said that no one was fighting her son's case which is why 
he was set to be executed.

"For God sake don't bereave me of my Shafqat ... He is my last child ... Please 
don't snatch him from me," she pleaded.

"Save my Shafqat from falling victim to injustice," she continued in what was a 
last-ditch attempt to influence the authorities to halt his execution.

She reiterated that Shafqat was a minor at the time when he was sentenced to 
death, and that according to the law, a minor cannot be sentenced to a death 
penalty.

She added that if her son was executed, it would be a great injustice. She 
called on human rights organisations and other institutions to play a role in 
saving her son.

(source: Pakistan Today)

*********

Unprecedented wave of executions underway, including of juvenile offenders

FIDH and its member organisation in Pakistan, the Human Rights Commission of 
Pakistan (HRCP), express our very serious concern and condemnation of the wave 
of executions that have taken place in Pakistan since the complete lifting of 
the moratorium on the death penalty last week.

"This sudden and shocking wave of executions puts a terrible stain on 
Pakistan's human rights record," said Karim Lahidji, President of FIDH. "The 
authorities must reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty immediately."

In the 8 days between March 10th and today, 15 executions have taken place. Of 
these, 12 have taken place in the past 2 days alone. This rate of executions is 
unprecedented, and shows no signs of stopping, as 40 more hangings are 
scheduled to take place in the coming 7 days.

5 of these upcoming executions are scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday 19 March, 
including the execution of juvenile offender Shafqat Hussain. There is 
publicly-available evidence that Mr. Hussain was a minor at the time of his 
supposed crime, including his birth certificate. Mr. Hussain was previously 
scheduled to be executed on 14 January 2015, but the execution was stayed after 
an intervention by the Minister of the Interior calling for a full inquiry into 
Mr. Hussain's age at the time of his arrest. However, no such inquiry has ever 
taken place.

"Mr. Hussain's conviction violates international law, including Pakistan's 
obligation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which 
prohibits state parties from imposing the capital punishment for offences 
supposedly committed by a person below 18 years of age," stated Zohra Yusuf, 
Vice-President of FIDH and Chairperson of HRCP. "We call on the government to 
immediately halt his execution and inquire into his case as promised."

FIDH and HRCP reiterate their firm opposition to the death penalty for all 
crimes and in all circumstances, as they consider it inhumane treatment and a 
violation of the inalienable right to life. We call on the Pakistani 
authorities to immediately halt all executions and reinstate the moratorium on 
the death penalty for all crimes. In particular, we urgently call on the 
authorities to halt the execution of Shafqat Hussain and to undertake an 
inquiry into his and all death penalty cases potentially involving juvenile 
offenders.

Background information : Between 16 December 2014 and 10 March 2015, 24 people 
were executed. This followed the partial lifting of the moratorium on the death 
penalty specifically for people convicted of terrorist activities. This 
decision was taken by the authorities after the Taliban attacked a school in 
Peshawar killing more than 100 children.

(source: FIDH)