Islamabad (CNN)Pakistan has ordered a stay of execution of a man who was convicted of manslaughter while he was 14 years old. Shafqat Hussain, 24, was scheduled to be hanged on Thursday, but a government official confirmed Wednesday night with a tweet that Hussain will not be hanged and that his case will be reviewed for another 72 hours. "We are still unclear on what investigation can be done in 72 hours," said Shahab Siddiqui, Hussain's lawyer. "We will be coordinating with the government and are happy to provide any documentation they would need." Hussain's case has triggered outrage from human rights campaigners, who complain he did not get a fair trial and had confessed to murder after being severely tortured by the police. His family says Hussain, at the age of 14 was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for kidnapping and killing a child while he was employed as a security guard in 2004. Unable to afford legal counsel the state appointed him a defense lawyer, whom, according to human rights groups, failed to provide any evidence or claim that Hussain was a juvenile. This meant Hussain was tried as an adult in an anti-terrorism court. A social media campaign with the hashtag #SaveShafqat trended in Pakistan and a small protest was held in the capital to raise awareness about his case. Shafqat was calm when he thought he was going to be executed, Manzoor Hussain, his brother told CNN. "He had said that if I don't get justice in this world, I will get it in my afterlife." "I can't tell you what kind of night my family has had. I close my eyes and I want to forget. I can't express the agony we have gone through, waiting and not knowing." Hussain was initially due to be hanged on January 19, but under international pressure, Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar called for a stay order. Addressing parliament, the minister called for an investigation into the young man's age. Two months later, another death warrant was issued for Hussain, with an execution date set for March 19. Since then Hussain's lawyers handed in a plea of clemency to the president's office with documentation that the inmate was a minor at the time of his arrest. Attention to his case comes in the wake of an announcement by Pakistan that it would lift its moratorium on the death penalty for all cases -- not just for those tried in anti-terrorism courts. Pakistan lifted the death penalty moratorium for terrorism cases following the attack on an Army Public School in Peshawar, which left at least 145 teachers and students dead. It was the deadliest act of terror in the country's history. The decision to lift the moratorium on all cases affects more than 8,000 prisoners currently on death row, the largest number in the world. The lifting of the moratorium has caused an uproar of criticism by human rights groups in Pakistan and abroad. "It's like responding to a blood bath by indulging in blood lust themselves," Zohra Yusuf, the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan told CNN. "Executions on this scale tend to brutalize society." Earlier this week the European Union released a statement on its website calling Pakistan to "reinstitute the moratorium and to respect fully all its international obligations, in particular the principle of fair trial." The statement also said that Pakistan is a party to an international covenant "that specifically prohibits the use of the death sentence for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age."​.
Here is a summary of the highlights for this article:
Pakistan postpones inmate's execution for the second time.
Shafqat Hussain was convicted at age 14; his family says confession extracted under torture.
Islamabad (CNN)Pakistan har beordrat en uppskov av avrättning av en man som var dömd för dråp medan han var 14 år gammal. Shafqat Hussain, 24 år, var planerad att hängas på torsdag, men en regeringstjänsteman bekräftade onsdag kväll med en tweet att Hussain inte kommer att hängas och att hans fall kommer att granskas i ytterligare 72 timmar. "Vi är fortfarande oklara om vilken utredning som kan göras på 72 timmar", sade Shahab Siddiqui, Hussains advokat. "Vi kommer att samordna med regeringen och är glada att kunna tillhandahålla all dokumentation de skulle behöva." Hussains fall har utlöst upprördhet från människorättskämpar, som klagar att han inte fick en rättvis rättegång och hade erkänt mord efter att ha torterats svårt av polisen. Hans familj säger att Hussain, vid 14 års ålder dömdes för ofrivilligt dråp för kidnappning och dödande av ett barn medan han anställdes som säkerhetsvakt 2004. Oförmögen att ha råd med juridiska biträde utsåg staten honom till försvarsadvokat, som enligt människorättsgrupper underlät att lämna några bevis eller påstå att Hussain var yngling. Detta innebar att Hussain ställdes inför rätta som vuxen i en domstol mot terrorism. En kampanj för sociala medier med hashtaggen #SaveShafqat trendad i Pakistan och en liten protest hölls i huvudstaden för att höja medvetenheten om hans fall. Shafqat var lugn när han trodde att han skulle avrättas, Manzoor Hussain, berättade hans bror för CNN. "Han hade sagt att om jag inte får rättvisa i den här världen, kommer jag att få det i mitt liv efter detta." "Jag kan inte säga vilken natt min familj har haft. Jag blundar och vill glömma. Jag kan inte uttrycka den vånda vi har gått igenom, väntande och ovetande." Hussain skulle till en början hängas den 19 januari, men under internationella påtryckningar krävde Pakistans inrikesminister Chaudhry Nisar en vistelseorder. Ministern talade inför riksdagen och begärde en utredning av den unge mannens ålder. Två månader senare utfärdades ytterligare en dödsdom för Hussain, med ett avrättningsdatum fastställt till den 19 mars. Sedan dess överlämnade Husains advokater en vädjan om nåd till presidentens kansli med dokumentation om att internen var minderårig vid tiden för gripandet. Hans fall uppmärksammas i kölvattnet av ett tillkännagivande från Pakistan om att landet skulle häva sitt moratorium för dödsstraff för alla fall -- inte bara för dem som ställdes inför rätta i antiterroristdomstolar. Pakistan hävde dödsstraffets moratorium för terroristfall efter attacken mot en armépublikskola i Peshawar, som lämnade minst 145 lärare och elever döda. Det var den dödligaste terrorhandlingen i landets historia. Beslutet att häva moratoriet i alla fall drabbar över 8 000 fångar som för närvarande sitter i dödscell, det största antalet i världen. Upphävandet av moratoriet har lett till ett upplopp av kritik från människorättsgrupper i Pakistan och utomlands. "Det är som att svara på ett blodbad genom att hänge sig åt blodtörst själva", berättade Zohra Yusuf, ordförande för Pakistans kommission för mänskliga rättigheter. "Avrättningar i denna skala tenderar att brutalisera samhället." Tidigare i veckan offentliggjorde Europeiska unionen ett uttalande på sin webbplats där Pakistan uppmanades att "återupprätta moratoriet och fullt ut respektera alla sina internationella skyldigheter, särskilt principen om rättvis rättegång". Uttalandet sade också att Pakistan är part i ett internationellt förbund "som specifikt förbjuder användning av dödsstraff för brott som begås av personer under arton år." . Här är en sammanfattning av höjdpunkterna för denna artikel:
Islamabad (CNN)Pakistan has ordered a postponement of execution of a man convicted of manslaughter while he was 14 years old. Shafqat Hussain, 24, was scheduled to be hanged on Thursday, but a government official confirmed Wednesday night with a tweet that Hussain will not be hanged and that his case will be reviewed for another 72 hours. "We are still unclear as to what investigation can be made in 72 hours," said Shahab Siddiqui, Hussain's lawyer. "We will coordinate with the government and are pleased to provide all the documentation they would need." Hussain's case has sparked outrage from human rights fighters, who complain that he did not get a fair trial and had confessed murder after being severely tortured by police. His family says Hussain, at the age of 14, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for kidnapping and killing a child while hired as a security guard in 2004. Unable to afford legal counsel, the state appointed him as a defense lawyer, who according to human rights groups failed to provide any evidence or claim Hussain was a youth. This meant that Hussain was tried as an adult in a court against terrorism. A social media campaign with the hashtag #SaveShafqat trended in Pakistan and a small protest was held in the capital to raise awareness of his case. Shafqat was calm when he thought he would be executed, Manzoor Hussain, told his brother to CNN. "He would have said that if I don't get justice in this world, I will have it in my afterlife." "I can't tell you what night my family has had. I close my eyes and I want to forget. I cannot express the agony we have been through, waiting and unaware." Hussain was initially to be hanged on 19 January, but under international pressure Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar demanded a stay order. The minister spoke before the parliament and requested an investigation into the young man's age. Two months later, another death sentence was issued for Hussain, with an execution date set for March 19. Since then, Husain's lawyers handed over an appeal for clemency to the President's Administration with documentation that the inmate was a minor at the time of the arrest. His case is noted in the wake of an announcement from Pakistan that the country would lift its moratorium on capital punishment for all cases -- not just for those who were tried in anti-terrorist courts. Pakistan lifted the death penalty moratorium on terrorist cases following the attack on an army public school in Peshawar, which left at least 145 teachers and students dead. It was the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of the country. The decision to lift the moratorium at least affects over 8 000 prisoners currently on death row, the largest number in the world. The lifting of the moratorium has led to a riot of criticism from human rights groups in Pakistan and abroad. "It's like responding to a carnage by indulged in bloodlust themselves," Zohra Yusuf, president of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, told. "Executions on this scale tend to brutalize society." Earlier this week, the European Union published a statement on its website calling on Pakistan to "reestablish the moratorium and fully respect all its international obligations, in particular the principle of fair trial". The statement also said that Pakistan is a party to an international covenant "which specifically prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of eighteen." . Here is a summary of the highlights of this article:
Pakistan skjuter upp internens avrättning för andra gången. Shafqat Hussain dömdes vid 14 års ålder; hans familj säger att bikten utvunnits under tortyr.
Pakistan postpones the inmate's execution for the second time. Shafqat Hussain was convicted at the age of 14; his family says confession was extracted under torture.