URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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14 December 2005
UA 314/05 Imminent Execution/ legal concern
PAKISTAN:
Shahzad (m)
Muhammad Ashraf (m)
Umer Hayat (m)
Mubarak Ali (m)
Shahzad, Muhammad Ashraf, Umer Hayat and Mubarak Ali are
scheduled to be hanged on 21 December in Faisalabad District
Jail in Punjab province. They have exhausted all possibilities of
appeal. Though President Musharraf has already rejected their
petition for mercy, he still has the power to commute the death
sentences.
The four men were found guilty of gang-raping a Christian girl
in Faisalabad in 1999 by the Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism Court. A
petition challenging the laws relevant to this case is currently
being heard by the Federal Shariat Court, which judges whether
laws are compatible with the teachings of Islam. However,
proceedings on a point of law usually take a long time in
Pakistan and it is unlikely that the four condemned men will
benefit from this legal challenge.
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.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
So far this year in Pakistan, 241 people have been sentenced to
death, mostly for murder, and 32 have reportedly been executed.
In 2004, 456 people were reportedly sentenced to death and 29
were executed.
The legal challenge currently considered by the Federal Shariat
Court relates to the imposition of the death penalty for rape. If
four witnesses give evidence concerning the rape, or if the
accused confesses, a death sentence is mandatory. However, if
these witnesses are not present the court has the power to impose
the death penalty at its discretion, as it has done in this case.
Those challenging the current law argue that this provision is not
in accordance with the injunctions of Islam. They also argue that
rape cases should not be charged by Anti-Terrorism Courts.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive
as quickly as possible:
- calling on President Musharraf to use his powers under article
45 of the Constitution of Pakistan to commute the death
sentences of Shahzad, Muhammad Ashraf, Umer Hayat and
Mubarak Ali immediately;
- 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: 011 92 51 9221422
Email: c...@pak.gov.pk
Salutation: Dear President Pervez Musharraf
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Jehangir Karamat
Embassy of Pakistan
2315 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 686 1544
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
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
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: u...@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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