ASA 33/014/2006

UA 118/06

Imminent Execution/ Unfair trial

PAKISTAN : Mirza Tahir Hussain (m)

04 May 2006

Mirza Tahir Hussain is due to be executed on 1 June 2006 following what Amnesty International believes to be an unfair trial. Mirza Tahir Hussain, who has been in detention for 18 years, has exhausted all possibilities of appeal and a mercy petition to the President has been rejected.

Mirza Tahir Hussain was tried and convicted of murdering a taxi driver while travelling to the village of Bhubar from Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, on 17 December 1988. The taxi driver reportedly stopped the car and produced a gun, and Mirza Tahir Hussain, who was 18 years old at the time, was reportedly physically and sexually assaulted by the taxi driver. In the scuffle that followed, the gun went off, and the taxi driver was fatally injured.

Mirza Tahir Hussain was sentenced to death in 1989 at the Sessions Court in Islamabad. Following an appeal, this sentence was dismissed by the Lahore High Court, which noted discrepancies in the case. The case was returned to the Sessions Court where Mirza Tahir Hussain was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994. Following a second appeal, the Lahore High Court then dismissed this sentence in 1996, and Mirza Tahir Hussain was acquitted of all charges against him.

A week later, Mirza Tahir Hussain’s case was referred to the Federal Shariat Court on charges from the original case, including robbery involving murder, which fall under Islamic offences against property law. The Federal Shariat Court’s duties include reviewing laws to ensure they conform with Islamic doctrine and dealing with appeals of cases tried under Islamic Law. The entire case against Mirza Tahir Hussain was reopened, and in 1998, he was sentenced to death by the Federal Shariat Court, despite their acknowledgment that no robbery had taken place due to the taxi being hired. The death penalty sentence by the Federal Shariat Court was based on a split two to one judgement, with the dissenting judge strongly recommending that Mirza Tahir Hussain be acquitted. Amnesty International believes that Mirza Tahir Hussain has not received a fair trial due to the contradictory statements of the different courts. Also, the Islamic provision under which he was tried requires that the death penalty should only be imposed if reliable eyewitness accounts or a confession to the court are submitted. In this case, neither was obtained.

The Supreme Court upheld the judgement in 2003 and dismissed an appeal in 2004. A petition for clemency was sent to the President in 2005 but was declined. The family of the taxi driver have refused compensation offered by the family of Mirza Tahir Hussain, as is permitted under Islamic law, which could allow Mirza Tahir Hussain to be pardoned.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In 2005 at least 241 people in Pakistan were sentenced to death and at least 31 people were executed, the majority for murder. Many well-off convicts were able to escape punishment under provisions of the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance that allows heirs of murder victims to accept compensation and pardon the offender.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases. The death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence, and not a solution to it. It has not been shown to have any more deterrent effect than other punishments and carries the risk of irrevocable error. The death penalty is seen as the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language :

 calling on President Musharraf to use his powers under article 45 of the Constitution of Pakistan to commute the death sentence of Mirza Tahir Hussain on humanitarian grounds ;

 calling for a retrial in light of irregularities during his trial and conviction ;

 calling for an immediate moratorium on all executions in the country, in line with worldwide trends to abolish the death penalty with a view to an eventual abolition of the death penalty.

APPEALS TO :

President
General Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
Pakistan
Fax : + 92 51 9221422
E-mail : via the president’s website : http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov....

Ambassade de la République islamique du Pakistan
Avenue Delleur 57
1170 Bruxelles
Fax : 02.675.83.94
Email :parepbrussels belgacom.be

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 1 June 2006.

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