Post by sclcookie on Jun 1, 2006 15:52:24 GMT -5
Blair urged to save British Muslim from execution
A GROWING number of politicians are pleading with Tony Blair to save a
British Muslim from execution in Pakistan.
Mirza Tahir Hussain faces execution after a freak accident resulted in the
death of a cab driver who allegedly molested the British man.
Campaigners accuse the British government of not doing enough to preserve
Hussain's life, despite the UK's official opposition to the death penalty.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has delayed the decision to kill
Hussain but his life still hangs in the balance.
Nelson Mandela has thrown his weight behind moves to save Hussain but the
British government has not done enough, supporters say.
Hussains is due to die on his 36th birthday, on 1st June unless he is
granted a last-minute amnesty. MEPs Diana Wallis MEP and Sajjad Karim have
voiced calls for clemency in the European Parliament.
The campaign has also gained support from the President of the European
Parliament, Josep Borrell.
justice
Borell wrote a letter to President Musharraf to express that the execution
of Mr Hussain will "cast a shadow over the reputation of Pakistan and
represent a combination of excessive cruelty and profound injustice."
Human rights charity Reprieve has called for the Prime Minister to
personally intervene in the case of Hussain. Reprieves legal director,
Clive Stafford Smith said: 'Hussain has always insisted on his innocence,
and the evidence strongly supports his claims.
'It is essential that the Prime Minister do everything he can to save
Hussains life. Mr. Blairs personal intervention is critical, as this
cannot be palmed off on quiet diplomacy by the Foreign Office.'
Stafford Smith said the power of government intervention in such cases was
brought home to him when he represented Nicolas Ingram, who was executed
in Georgia 11 years ago.
Ingram had been on death row since 1983 for murdering J C Sawyer and
injuring his wife, Eunice Sawyer, during a robbery.
Stafford Smith said: 'I watched Nicky Ingram die in the electric chair
because John Major refused to pick up the phone on my clients behalf.
shocked
'The failure to use the immense power of Number Ten in support of a basic
human right is difficult to forgive.'
Fanad Ansari, spokesperson of the Islamic Human Rights Commission has also
expressed his concern regarding the governments attitude. 'We were shocked
when Hussains brother asked us for help with this case which started 18
years ago.
'He said the UK Foreign Office had told him to keep quiet about the
situation and wait and see. The governments actions are insufficient; they
should press harder for Mirza Tahir Hussains release.
'The government needs to take more affirmative action. The Hussain family
will not be content until he is released. Our community needs to contact
the Pakistan High Commission and write to MPs and local newspapersWe need
to maintain pressure.'
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett wrote to President Musharraf persuading
him to commute the death sentence but, the immediate reaction of the
Pakistani government indicates Becketts actions were far from adequate.
gunpoint
Instead of welcoming the letter and offering to review the case, a
Pakistani government spokesperson stressed reliance on the judicial
process, which has already rejected Hussain final appeals.
Hussain, from Leeds, and served in the Territorial Army. At the age of 18,
he decided to visit family in Pakistan, and hired a taxi to take him to
the village of Bhubar, near Rawalpindi. On the way, the taxi driver
attempted to sexually assault him at gunpoint.
During the ensuing struggle, the gun went off, injuring the taxi driver,
who later died. Immediately, he drove the injured man to the police
station, but he was arrested and charged with murder when the man died.
Hussain was subsequently tried and sentenced to death. After several
appeals, his conviction was quashed by the High Court. However, shortly
before Hussain was due to be released, the drivers family intervened and
succeeded in having Hussain case transferred to Pakistans parallel Sharia
religious courts.
In 1998, the Sharia court by a 2 to 1 vote once again sentenced Hussain to
death. The dissenters criticised the decision as a "miscarriage of
justice." A spokesperson from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
asserts that the FCO has undertaken a number of strategies to encourage
President Musharraf to put a stop to Mr Hussains execution.
The spokesperson commented: 'The foreign secretary wrote a letter to the
Pakistani president expressing her disapproval of the situation "we have
also made a number of representations at a senior and ministerial level.'"
(source: Black Information Link)
A GROWING number of politicians are pleading with Tony Blair to save a
British Muslim from execution in Pakistan.
Mirza Tahir Hussain faces execution after a freak accident resulted in the
death of a cab driver who allegedly molested the British man.
Campaigners accuse the British government of not doing enough to preserve
Hussain's life, despite the UK's official opposition to the death penalty.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has delayed the decision to kill
Hussain but his life still hangs in the balance.
Nelson Mandela has thrown his weight behind moves to save Hussain but the
British government has not done enough, supporters say.
Hussains is due to die on his 36th birthday, on 1st June unless he is
granted a last-minute amnesty. MEPs Diana Wallis MEP and Sajjad Karim have
voiced calls for clemency in the European Parliament.
The campaign has also gained support from the President of the European
Parliament, Josep Borrell.
justice
Borell wrote a letter to President Musharraf to express that the execution
of Mr Hussain will "cast a shadow over the reputation of Pakistan and
represent a combination of excessive cruelty and profound injustice."
Human rights charity Reprieve has called for the Prime Minister to
personally intervene in the case of Hussain. Reprieves legal director,
Clive Stafford Smith said: 'Hussain has always insisted on his innocence,
and the evidence strongly supports his claims.
'It is essential that the Prime Minister do everything he can to save
Hussains life. Mr. Blairs personal intervention is critical, as this
cannot be palmed off on quiet diplomacy by the Foreign Office.'
Stafford Smith said the power of government intervention in such cases was
brought home to him when he represented Nicolas Ingram, who was executed
in Georgia 11 years ago.
Ingram had been on death row since 1983 for murdering J C Sawyer and
injuring his wife, Eunice Sawyer, during a robbery.
Stafford Smith said: 'I watched Nicky Ingram die in the electric chair
because John Major refused to pick up the phone on my clients behalf.
shocked
'The failure to use the immense power of Number Ten in support of a basic
human right is difficult to forgive.'
Fanad Ansari, spokesperson of the Islamic Human Rights Commission has also
expressed his concern regarding the governments attitude. 'We were shocked
when Hussains brother asked us for help with this case which started 18
years ago.
'He said the UK Foreign Office had told him to keep quiet about the
situation and wait and see. The governments actions are insufficient; they
should press harder for Mirza Tahir Hussains release.
'The government needs to take more affirmative action. The Hussain family
will not be content until he is released. Our community needs to contact
the Pakistan High Commission and write to MPs and local newspapersWe need
to maintain pressure.'
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett wrote to President Musharraf persuading
him to commute the death sentence but, the immediate reaction of the
Pakistani government indicates Becketts actions were far from adequate.
gunpoint
Instead of welcoming the letter and offering to review the case, a
Pakistani government spokesperson stressed reliance on the judicial
process, which has already rejected Hussain final appeals.
Hussain, from Leeds, and served in the Territorial Army. At the age of 18,
he decided to visit family in Pakistan, and hired a taxi to take him to
the village of Bhubar, near Rawalpindi. On the way, the taxi driver
attempted to sexually assault him at gunpoint.
During the ensuing struggle, the gun went off, injuring the taxi driver,
who later died. Immediately, he drove the injured man to the police
station, but he was arrested and charged with murder when the man died.
Hussain was subsequently tried and sentenced to death. After several
appeals, his conviction was quashed by the High Court. However, shortly
before Hussain was due to be released, the drivers family intervened and
succeeded in having Hussain case transferred to Pakistans parallel Sharia
religious courts.
In 1998, the Sharia court by a 2 to 1 vote once again sentenced Hussain to
death. The dissenters criticised the decision as a "miscarriage of
justice." A spokesperson from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
asserts that the FCO has undertaken a number of strategies to encourage
President Musharraf to put a stop to Mr Hussains execution.
The spokesperson commented: 'The foreign secretary wrote a letter to the
Pakistani president expressing her disapproval of the situation "we have
also made a number of representations at a senior and ministerial level.'"
(source: Black Information Link)