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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-043- 2008
5 March 2008
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PAKISTAN: Death by hanging of a man set on March 12 after confessing due to
torture by military
ISSUES: Death penalty; torture; unfair trial; military court; incommunicado;
denial of legal assistance
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding
the death sentence of a man from minority community, who is due to be
executed on 12 March 2008. He was charged with murder however, he was
allegedly severely tortured after the illegal arrest. It is also alleged
that he was not provided any legal representative during the military trial.
He was not allowed to communicate with his parent during his two years of
military custody and meet his parents only after the military court
convicted him.
CASE DETAILS:
According to the information received, Mr. Zahid Masih son of Salamat Masih
was recruited in the Pakistan Army as a sanitary worker and sweeper in
August 2001 at the cantonment of Multan city, Punjab province. After some
months he was transferred to another cantonment at Tarbella- Punjab
province, 600 kilometers far from Multan, his hometown. He served in
Tarbella cantonment for almost two years and in 2003 he was again
transferred to another place, the Chirat, a cantonment at Peshawar in
province of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) as a sweeper because of
his good work and loyalty to officers.
He joined Regiment/Unit 4 Commando Battalion (Special Service Group) Chirat.
When he reached and joined service at Chirat cantonment he heard that a
9-year-old boy was sexually molested and murdered by unknown persons among
the staff of the cantonment and there was a military investigation going on.
After one weak of joining service he was given two months leave to go home
for recreation as it is a common feature that, whenever there is a transfer
the staff is allowed to have leave. Zahid Masih went to Multan to meet his
parents and other family members and after two months he returned to Chirat
to resume his duties. Till that time the investigation of murder was going
on. Suddenly, one month after his return Zahid Masih was disappeared from
the work place and his whereabouts were not known to the family for about
two years.
Zahid's family later found him in Central jail at Peshawar charged with
murder under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He was accused of
committing sodomy and killing the nine-year-old boy, Muhammad Adnan on 1
March 2005. The Military Court found Zahid guilty and sentenced him death on
10 March 2006.
While in the military custody for 2 years, he was extensively interrogated
for 28 days consecutively and he was severely tortured to confess to the
murder of the boy. Due to the severity of the torture he had no choice but
to confess even though he alleged that he was innocent. Some Orderlies of
officers came and persuaded him that if he confessed the officers would
provide him with relief. Mr. Mohammad Khusheed son of Mohammad Nawaz, the
orderly of an army officer, conveyed this message to him with saying that
his confession would save the image of Pakistan Army. Zahid Masih informed
these facts to his brother in a letter. However, Zahid was not allowed to
meet with his family during his trial in the cantonment by a military court
and the family did also not know about that.
When Zahid Masih was allowed to meet his family in early 2008, he told his
family that he was made an escape goat as he was Christian and a sweeper. He
further said that the messengers from officers of Chirat cantonments
convinced him that he would be free from the charges if he confessed the
crime. He alleged that military persons at cantonment killed the boy and
they wanted to shift the offence to weakest person.
On 20 January 2008, Zahid's mother wrote a mercy appeal to the President and
human rights groups and the Church leadership wrote letters to the
authorities, including the President. Due to this intervention, the
execution date was delayed for 20 days however, it is again scheduled on 12
March 2008.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Pakistan is among the top in the list of countries with the highest number
of executions (along with China, Iran, Iraq, Sudan and USA). It has
approximately 7,400 convicts awaiting execution. According to the Amnesty
International 2007 report, 82 persons were executed in 2006. A local source
claimed that 109 people have been awarded death sentence in the first 9
months of 2007 and about 10,000 were executed in Pakistan in the past 11
years.
According to the PPC 302, which Zahid Masih is charged under: whoever
commits pre-meditated murder shall be punished with (a) death as
"retaliation" ; (b) death or imprisonment for life as corporal punishment to
be administered at the discretion of the judge; and (c) imprisonment of up
to 25 years, provided it is not committed in the name or the pretext of
honour.
According to the PPC section 304, the proof of murder could be in form of
voluntary and true confession before a competent court that the accused
committed the offence; and by evidence as provided in Article 17 of the
Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984 (P.O. No. 10 of 1984), based on the competence of a
person to testify and the number of witnesses required accordingly.
Local sources claim that the penal system in Pakistan is full of loopholes
and defects. It may be better sometimes not to hang the alleged killers due
to mal-administration of justice, police service dereliction, and cultural
prejudices affecting women and religious minorities.
It has also been commented that the laws have become "tools for personal
vendettas against vulnerable segments of society, including the poor and
minorities" and are often "manipulated, especially in blasphemy cases, where
both judicial system and police department investigate with bias, without
checking veracity of the facts."
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letter and fax to the following authorities showing your
concern of what appears to be an unfair trial and a confession obtained by
torture. Please also demand clemency as he is innocent of this crime and at
the time of murder of young boy he was doing job in anther cantonment of
Tarbela. After his transfer to Chirat he was booked in the case only because
he was from a minority community and a weak target as being the sweeper, the
most lowest job.
The AHRC writes letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of
Torture and working group on arbitrary detention calling for urgent
intervention in this case.
To support this appeal, please click here:
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SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear __________,
PAKISTAN: Death by hanging of a man set on March 12 after confessing due to
torture by military
Name of victim: Mr. Zahid Masih, son of Salamat Masih, 27 years old,
Sanitary worker, Chirat Cantonment, Regiment/Unit 4 Commando Battalion
(Special Service Group) Chirat, Peshawar, North western frontier province;
resident of Saeed Colony near Purani Chand Mari, Farooq Pura post office,
Purana Shuja Abad Multan-Punjab province
Currently detained at: Peshawar prison, North Western Frontier Province
Date of scheduled execution: 12 March 2008
I am writing to voice my concern regarding the case of Mr. Zahid Masih who
is to be hanged on March 12 after his and his family's appeal of clemency
were turned down. Mr. Zahid's family has been asked to meet him on March 11,
2008 as a final meeting. On March 4, some persons from the military have
taken thumb impressions of his mother on mysterious papers and they had not
informed on several enquiries that why they were taking the signatures.
Mr. Zahis was also denied a fair trial and case was tried at military court
without providing him any legal assistance.
According to my information, Mr. Zahid Masih son of Salamat Masih was
recruited in the Pakistan Army as sanitary worker/ sweeper in August 2001 at
the cantonment of Multan city, Punjab province. After some months he was
transferred to another cantonment at Tarbella- Punjab province, 600
kilometers far from Multan, his native place. He served in Tarbella
cantonment for two years and in 2003 he was again transferred to another
place, the Charat, a cantonment at Peshawar in province of North Western
Frontier Province (NWFP) as sweeper because of his good work and loyalty to
officers. He joined Regiment/Unit 4 Commando Battalion (Special Service
Group) Chirat. When he reached and joined service at Chirat cantonment he
heard that on young boy of 9 years was sexually molested and murdered by
unknown persons among the staff of cantonment and there was military
investigation was going on. After one weak of joining service he was given
two months leave to go home for recreation as it is a common feature that
when ever there is transfer the staff is allowed to have leave. Mr. Zahid
Masih went to Multan to meet his parents and other family members and after
two months he came back to Tarbella to resume his duties. Till that time the
investigation of murder was still going on.
It is very shocking for me that as he reached Charat and that after one
month he was disappeared from the work place and his whereabouts were not
known to the family for about two years. The question is very pertinent that
when he was under interrogation why the authorities have kept in
incommunicado which means that he was pressured to confess the offence and
face the severest kind of tortue.
Zahid's family later found him in Central jail at Peshawar booked for murder
under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He was accused of committing
sodomy and killing a nine-year-old boy Muhammad Adnan on 1 March 2005. The
Military Court found Zahid guilty and sentenced him to death on 10 March
2006.
I am shocked to know that during two years of his disappearance he was
extensively interrogated continuously for 28 days in the military custody
and he was tortured severely, inhumanly to confess the murder of 9 year old
boy, which he confessed for not finding any other option. He was told by the
Orderlies of officers that if he confesses murder of the boy then officers
will provide him relief. Torture in custody to get the confessional
statement is very much against the UN Convenient Against Torture (CAT) and
Pakistan being the elected member of UN human rights council should have to
follow the charter of human rights of the UN.
Mr. Zahid Masih is scheduled to be hanged on March 12, 2008. On 20 January
2008, Zahid's mother wrote a mercy appeal to the president and on 28 January
2008 human rights organizations and his Church leadership wrote letters to
the authorities, including the President, to consider mercy for Zahid Masih.
They responded by delaying the execution for 20 days (31 January--20
February 2008). But now it is fixed on March 12.
I appeal to you to provide clemency to Zahid Masih and order the authorities
to retrial the whole case in ordinary courts of the country and provide him
fair trial according to the laws of the country.
I also appeal to investigate the whole issue of trial in military court when
the offence comes under the criminal procedural laws of Pakistan and hold a
enquiry that he was kept in incommunicado for confessional statement and
military trial.
I hope that you will do best for providing clemency to him as he is innocent
and was not provided legal assistance and was kept in incommunicado and was
tortured.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
Email: (please see->
http://www.presiden tofpakistan. gov.pk/WTPreside ntMessage. aspx)
2. Mr. Afzal Haider
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-mail: minister@molaw. gov.pk
3. Federal Minister of Interior
Room#404, 4th Floor, R Block,
Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 9212026
Fax: + 92 51 9202624
E-mail: minister@interior. gov.pk
4. Secretary
(Criminal Prosecution) SGA &CD Department
Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9213327-6
Fax: +92 21 9213873
E-mail: secy.cpsd@sindh. gov.pk
5. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court Building
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9213770
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
Baseer Naveed
Senior Researcher, South Asia Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
19/F Go-Up Commercial Building
998 Canton Rd, Mongkok
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Tel: (852) 2698 6339 Ext 113
Fax: (852) 2698 6367
Mob: (852)6402 5943
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