Headlines
Pakistan urged not to execute child offender
New York, March 15
Pakistani authorities
should immediately halt the execution of an alleged child offender
scheduled for March 19 and commute his sentence, Human Rights Watch said
Sunday.
On March 12, an anti-terrorism court in Karachi approved
the execution of Shafqat Hussain, who was allegedly 14 or 15 years old
when sentenced in 2004 for kidnapping and killing a seven-year-old boy.
The
court approved Hussain's execution despite allegations that security
forces in Sindh province had tortured Hussain into confessing to the
crime.
"Executing child offenders is a barbarous violation of basic decency and international law," said Human Rights Watch.
"Sending
someone to the gallows for an alleged crime committed as a child shows
the Pakistani government's disregard for children's rights."
Hussain's
looming execution follows the government's decision on December 16 to
rescind a four-year unofficial death penalty moratorium for non-military
personnel "in terrorism related cases".
That decision was an
explicit government reaction to the December 16 attack by the Pakistani
Taliban splinter group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) on a school in Peshawar
that left at least 148 dead - almost all children.
Sharif's decision has led to more than 20 executions of people convicted of terrorism-related charges.
On
March 10, interior ministry officials confirmed that Pakistan had
lifted its death penalty moratorium for all capital crimes and
instructed provincial governments to proceed with executions according
to law.