Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about another execution in Pakistan, planned for December 17, Saturday, which merits wide attention. Muhammed Anwar, the accused, a minor when the alleged crime was committed, who has since spent 23 years on death row, a time that exceeds a life sentence, will be hung on the gallows. He has paralysis on his left hand and leg, following two heart attacks that he has suffered in jail. According to Anwar, in terms of the incident of which he stands convicted and sentenced, he was attacked by 15 to 20 persons; in his defense, he used his pistol; three persons were injured, and one of them died a month later. The information strongly suggests a miscarriage of justice: lower courts, medical board, and provincial authorities fixed the case because Muhammed’s family is not wealthy.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Information received from Reprieve UK, Justice Project Pakistan, and according to the documents filed before the High Court, the crime took place on 6 March 1993, the date that the First Information Report was recorded. Some friends of Muhammed Anwar were playing football in Buggoo Village, Vehari, Punjab, on 6 March 1993. There was an argument over the game. Later, that evening, 15-20 people came to Muhammad’s house and threatened him. He defended himself with a pistol. Two people were injured, but were in stable condition; the third died a month later.
The Sessions Court, Vehari, heard the case. During trial, Muhammad’s lawyer died, but the court did not allow the defendant to hire another lawyer. The judge provided a lawyer of the judge’s own choice. The court also did not provide the opportunity for the defendant to cross-examine the witnesses, or the statements of the witnesses, under Section 161 of Pakistan Penal Code.
The trial did not conclude for five years; Muhammed was convicted and sentenced to death on 27 June 1998. In the year 2001, the government of former General Pervez Musharaf announced that minors couldn’t be sentenced to death. Muhammad’s family members immediately wrote letters to the authorities requesting to determine Muhammed’s age. The Home Department of the Punjab government instituted a medical board at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. The board has stated in its report that Mohammad was 25 years of age on 21 October 2002.
The defendants sent the report of the medical board to the National Data Base Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of a birth certificate. However, the family could not fullfil the requirements of NADRA officials so the certificate was not granted.
Muhammad was born on 28th December 1975. At that time he would have been 17. His date of birth has been officially confirmed only yesterday (16 December 2015). The AHRC has accessed a copy of the original Union Council document reflecting his birth on 28 December 1975, which was recorded just three days after his birth, on 31 December 1975.
Muhammad’s family has made numerous efforts over the years to have his age recognised by the authorities, following the introduction of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance. His mother, Hamidan Bibi, wrote to the Supreme Court Human Rights Cell (SCHRC) about the case. In her letter, she has explained that a Medical Board was constituted, and on 21 March 2002, the Board declared that he was a juvenile. Please see more information and documents at the following link.
Again, in 2009, Muhammad Anwar applied to the Home Department for a determination of his case. It took until 8 May 2015 for the Home Department to issue a two-page letter in which they said that it was not the proper forum for making this decision, and that Muhammad Anwar’s mother should go to the District and Sessions Court. This recommendation was based on the 2003 decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Zia Ullah v. Najeeb Ullah (Civil Petition No. 1837/02), in which the Court directed the Home Department to forward to the Sessions Court details of cases that had claims of juvenility.
Mr Anwar’s family then immediately filed an application before the Sessions Court, in May 2015. However, the judge refused to consider the issue of juvenility and denied the petition on 29 June 2015. On 6 August 2015, Muhammad Anwar then sought a review in the Lahore High Court, where the issue is still pending. Only yesterday, 16 December 2015, was the counsel able to file a motion for a stay of execution in these proceedings, which should come for a hearing tomorrow, 17 December.
Muhammed suffers from partial paralysis. The records received by the AHRC today reflect that his heart condition was recognized as early as 2009, when he was referred to a cardiologist. The prison noted, in an application dated 22 May 2009 that Anwar had been subject to a quarterly cardiologist examination, since March of that year. Unfortunately, according to reports, he appears to have had a major double heart attack in 2014, causing the left-side if his body to suffer paralysis. He is now paralysed in the left arm and leg.
Muhammad Anwar’s mother filed a mercy petition on 10 March 2011. This appears to have been a very limited application, and it appears she did not have the benefit of assistance of counsel in its submission: “The applicant is extremely poor and elderly,” she wrote. “She is unable to afford lawyers’ fees.”
Given Muhammad’s age at the time of the offence, his execution would clearly violate the prohibition on the execution of juveniles set out in Article 6 of the ICCPR and Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It would also be a violation of the prohibition on double punishment, as Anwar has already spent nearly 23 years on death row – a far longer prison term than one he would have served if he had been given a life sentence.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In 2015 alone, four teenagers have been hanged in Pakistan. The Pakistani courts handed down capital punishment to four alleged murderers, despite the plea from their lawyers and human rights organizations that they were under 18 years of at the time of commission of the crime. Aftab Bahadur Masih, Ansar Iqbal, Syed Saqi Shah, and Shafqat Hussain were under-aged and had already served two decades behind bars before being hanged. The courts disregarded all evidence pertaining to the age of the convicts before doling out the death sentences. In the case of Shafqat Hussain, the court refused to allow more time to the lawyer to furnish evidence related to his exact age.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the following, expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate halt to the execution Mr. Mohammad Anwar and clemency on medical grounds.
Please note that the AHRC has also written separate letters to the United Nations Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in this regard.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ………………..,
PAKISTAN: Yet another minor at the time of crime faces imminent execution
Name of victim:
Mr. Mohammad Anwar son of Nazir Ahmed, resident of Village 220 EB, Post office Khas, Tehseel Burewala, district Vehari, , Punjab
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Prosecution department of Punjab
2. Medical board of Nishtar Hospital, Multan
3. National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Lahore
4. Sessions Court, district Vehari, Punjab
Date of incident: December 17, 2015
Place of incident: Vehari, Punjab
I am writing to voice my deep concern about another execution in Pakistan, planned for December 17, Saturday, which merits wide attention. Muhammed Anwar, the accused, a minor when the alleged crime was committed, who has since spent 23 years on death row, a time that exceeds a life sentence, will be hung on the gallows. He has paralysis on his left hand and leg, following two heart attacks that he has suffered in jail. According to the petition filed by Anwar, in terms of the incident of which he stands convicted and sentenced, he was attacked by 15 to 20 persons; in his defense, he used his pistol; three persons were injured, and one of them died a month later. The information strongly suggests a miscarriage of justice: lower courts, medical board, and provincial authorities fixed the case because Muhammed’s family is not wealthy.
According to documents filed before the High Court, the crime took place on 6 March 1993, the date that the First Information Report was recorded. Some friends of Muhammed Anwar were playing football in Buggoo Village, Vehari, Punjab, on 6 March 1993. There was an argument over the game. Later, that evening, 15-20 people came to Muhammad’s house and threatened him. He defended himself with a pistol. Two people were injured, but were in stable condition; the third died a month later.
I am out raged that the Sessions Court, Vehari, heard the case. During trial, Muhammad’s lawyer died, but the court did not allow the defendant to hire another lawyer. The judge provided a lawyer of the judge’s own choice. The court also did not provide the opportunity for the defendant to cross-examine the witnesses, or the statements of the witnesses, under Section 161 of Pakistan Penal Code.
The trial did not conclude for five years; Muhammed was convicted and sentenced to death on 27 June 1998. In the year 2001, the government of former General Pervez Musharaf announced that minors couldn’t be sentenced to death. Muhammad’s family members immediately wrote letters to the authorities requesting to determine Muhammed’s age. The Home Department of the Punjab government instituted a medical board at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. The board has stated in its report that Mohammad was 25 years of age on 21 October 2002.
The defendants sent the report of the medical board to the National Data Base Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of a birth certificate. However, the family could not fullfil the requirements of NADRA officials so the certificate was not granted.
Muhammad was born on 28th December 1975. At that time he would have been 17. His date of birth has been officially confirmed only yesterday (16 December 2015). The AHRC has accessed a copy of the original Union Council document reflecting his birth on 28 December 1975, which was recorded just three days after his birth, on 31 December 1975.
Muhammad’s family has made numerous efforts over the years to have his age recognised by the authorities, following the introduction of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance. His mother, Hamidan Bibi, wrote to the Supreme Court Human Rights Cell (SCHRC) about the case. In her letter, she has explained that a Medical Board was constituted, and on 21 March 2002, the Board declared that he was a juvenile.
Again, in 2009, Muhammad Anwar applied to the Home Department for a determination of his case. It took until 8 May 2015 for the Home Department to issue a two-page letter in which they said that it was not the proper forum for making this decision, and that Muhammad Anwar’s mother should go to the District and Sessions Court. This recommendation was based on the 2003 decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Zia Ullah v. Najeeb Ullah (Civil Petition No. 1837/02), in which the Court directed the Home Department to forward to the Sessions Court details of cases that had claims of juvenility.
Mr Anwar’s family then immediately filed an application before the Sessions Court, in May 2015. However, the judge refused to consider the issue of juvenility and denied the petition on 29 June 2015. On 6 August 2015, Muhammad Anwar then sought a review in the Lahore High Court, where the issue is still pending. Only yesterday, 16 December 2015, was the counsel able to file a motion for a stay of execution in these proceedings, which should come for a hearing tomorrow, 17 December.
Muhammed suffers from partial paralysis. The records received by the AHRC today reflect that his heart condition was recognized as early as 2009, when he was referred to a cardiologist. The prison noted, in an application dated 22 May 2009 that Anwar had been subject to a quarterly cardiologist examination, since March of that year. Unfortunately, according to reports, he appears to have had a major double heart attack in 2014, causing the left-side if his body to suffer paralysis. He is now paralysed in the left arm and leg.
Muhammad Anwar’s mother filed a mercy petition on 10 March 2011. This appears to have been a very limited application, and it appears she did not have the benefit of assistance of counsel in its submission: “The applicant is extremely poor and elderly,” she wrote. “She is unable to afford lawyers’ fees.”
Given Muhammad’s age at the time of the offence, his execution would clearly violate the prohibition on the execution of juveniles set out in Article 6 of the ICCPR and Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It would also be a violation of the prohibition on double punishment, as Anwar has already spent nearly 23 years on death row – a far longer prison term than one he would have served if he had been given a life sentence.
I therefore, urge your good offices you to immediate halt to the execution Mr. Mohammad Anwar and clemency on medical grounds.
Yours sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Mamnoon Hussain
President of Pakistan
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk
2. Mr. Ban Ki Moon
Secretary General of the United Nations
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations
S-378, New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 212 963 5012
Fax: +1 212 963 7055 or 2155
E-mail: ecu@un.org, inquiries@un.org
3. Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson
52 Rue Des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9656
Fax: +41 22 917 9012/0213
Email: civilsociety@ohchr.org
4. Mr. Justice Zaheer Jamali,
Chief Justice of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
