Dear Prime Minister
I
am writing on behalf of Amnesty International to express deep concern
at the Government of Pakistan’s reported intention to resume executions.
I urge you to support a further Presidential order not to implement
death sentences and to commute all death sentences to terms of
imprisonment as a significant first step towards abolition of the death
penalty.
The death penalty violates the right to life as
recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the
ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Moreover, in Pakistan
many defendants have been sentenced to death following unfair trials,
including for non-lethal offences. The resumption of executions would
set Pakistan directly against its obligations, as well as against the
global trend towards abolition of capital punishment.
The nearly
four years’ cessation of executions in Pakistan, interrupted only by the
execution of soldier Muhammed Hussain, following a court martial, on 15
November 2012, represents an important human rights milestone. This was
recognized internationally, including during the consideration of
Pakistan’s human rights record at the UN Universal Periodic Review in
October 2012.
Executions will not improve the law and order situation
There
is no convincing evidence that the death penalty has an unique
deterrent effect on crime compared to other forms of punishment, as
demonstrated for example by the persistently high crime rates for
capital offences in many of the states of the USA that retain capital
punishment. The most comprehensive study carried out by the UN on the
relation between the death penalty and homicide rates concluded:
"...research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have
a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. Such proof is
unlikely to be forthcoming. The evidence as a whole still gives no
positive support to the deterrent hypothesis".
Far from being a
solution, the death penalty gives the erroneous impression that "firm
measures" are being taken against crime, diverting attention from the
broader reform efforts in law enforcement and justice that will provide
Pakistan with effective and enduring responses to violent crimes and
human rights abuses. In the words of the Constitutional Court of South
Africa in 1995, "We would be deluding ourselves if we were to believe
that the execution of... a comparatively few people each year... will
provide the solution to the unacceptably high rate of crime... The
greatest deterrent to crime is the likelihood that offenders will be
apprehended, convicted and punished".
At a time when Pakistan’s
justice system is struggling to cope with the law and order situation,
it can be all too easy to see the death penalty as a quick fix solution.
Instead of resuming executions, Amnesty International urges the
Government of Pakistan to seek long-term solutions that result in
systemic improvements in the administration of criminal justice; better
co-operation and co-ordination amongst law enforcement authorities with a
view to bringing suspects to trial, and increased capacity of the
judicial and law enforcement authorities to ensure due process and rule
of law, consistent with international human rights law and standards.
Unfair trials are systemic in Pakistan
Amnesty
International’s concern is heightened by the fact that many death
sentences are handed down after trials that do not meet international
fair trial standards. These trials are characterized by a lack of access
to legal counsel and an acceptance of evidence inadmissible under
international law. Statements extracted through torture continue to be
used as evidence in court. Defendants often face restrictions in trying
to access a lawyer or are given state-appointed lawyers who are often
poorly trained and paid, and may not represent their clients vigorously
unless given further payments by the defendant or their family.
In
addition, the right to fair trial has been undermined in trials before
lower courts which continue to sentence people to death. These courts
operate with restricted public access and with the requirement for
trials to be completed within a matter of days or weeks, putting judges
under extreme pressure to convict.
The high courts do not have
jurisdiction over the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, leaving the
people sentenced to death by courts in this region without a right to
appeal against a death sentence to Pakistan’s superior judiciary.
Pakistan’s
judicial system suffers from corruption, lack of independence and
discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity and social,
economic and other status.
As long as the death penalty is in
place, the risk of executing innocent people can never be eliminated.
Unfair trials exacerbate this risk and place Pakistan in breach of its
international obligations.
The death penalty breaches Pakistan’s international obligations
The
death penalty may be imposed in Pakistan for at least 28 crimes,
including for non-lethal offences which do not meet the threshold of the
“most serious crimes” as set out in Article 6.2 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Pakistan is a
State party. Many of the over 8,000 people sentenced to death in
Pakistan have been convicted for non-lethal offences. Thousands of these
people are still appealing against their death sentences, and any
executions of such sentences would violate Pakistan’s international
obligations under Article 6 and 14 of the ICCPR.
As of today, 97
countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, and 140
countries are abolitionist in law or practice. Since 2007 the UN General
Assembly has adopted, with increased cross-regional support, four
resolutions calling on States that retain the death penalty to establish
a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
Amnesty
International urges the new government of Pakistan to uphold its
commitment to human rights, not resume executions and to commute all
death sentences to terms of imprisonment.
Yours sincerely
Salil Shetty
Secretary General
17 July 2013
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento