Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) has written a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressing grave concerns over the imminent resumption of executions in Pakistan. Earlier, the Pakistan premiere had announced the partial lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty for those sentenced to death by the Anti-Terrorism Courts. This decision came in the wake of the horrific incident in Peshawar where over 150 people, including children, lost their lives.
The letter brings to the Prime Minister's attention the findings of JPP's report "Terror on Death Row", which unveils the rampant abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The letter details statistical findings that illustrate how instead of being reserved for the most serious cases of recognisable acts of terror, the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 is in fact being used to try ordinary criminal cases, either in a deliberate attempt to evade the procedural safeguards guaranteed by ordinary courts or due to the vague and overly broad definitions of 'terrorism' in the legislation. In the face of such empirical confirmation of the failures of the anti-terror courts, any rushed executions open the door to injustice with unimaginable consequences.
The definition of "terrorism" within the legislation is overly vague and broad. JPP's research shows that only 20 percent of those sentenced to death through the Anti-Terrorism Courts could be characterised as terrorists according to the widely acknowledged understanding of terrorism. The letter also bemoans the unjustifiable expediency with which mercy petitions have been reviewed and rejected by the President's office. Any dismissal of mercy petitions without the meticulous evaluation required to make a fair decision is at odds with the values of justice enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.
Among the sixteen set for execution is Shafqat Hussain, who was arrested in 2004 when he was 15 years old and convicted of murder on the strength of one piece of evidence: a forced confession made after nine days of police torture. When his case was reviewed by the Sindh High Court his conviction for murder was quashed and replaced with a conviction for involuntary manslaughter - accidentally causing death. Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), who are representing Hussain, have raised strong concerns about the fairness of his trial in the Anti-Terrorism Courts. Sarah Belal, Executive Director Justice Project Pakistan said: "Like I have mentioned in my letter to the Prime Minister, we are offering our complete assistance to the government to undertake this process properly.