Pakistan executes man who was minor when crime committed
Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Publication Date | 29 September 2015 |
Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Pakistan executes man who was minor when crime committed, 29 September 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/561d04d66.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
September 29, 2015
The brother of Ansar Iqbal sits in an ambulance next his brother's bodyafter his execution.
Pakistan has executed a convict for a murder that rights groups and his family said he committed as a minor.
Officials said Ansar Iqbal was hanged before dawn on September 29 at a prison in the city of Sargodha, in Punjab Province.
Iqbal was sentenced to death in 1996, although his defense claimed he was just 15 when he committed the crime.
Under Pakistani law, anyone under 18 at the time of the crime cannot face the death penalty.
Britain-based rights group Reprieve, who says a birth certificate and school documents proving Iqbal's age were dismissed by the court, issued a last-minute appeal to President Mamnoon Hussain for a pardon.
Some 240 the number of convicts executed by Pakistan since authorities lifted last December a 2008 moratorium on carrying out death sentences.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Link to original story on RFE/RL website