Friday, 19 February 2021, 6:47 am
GENEVA (18 February 2021) – UN human rights experts
have welcomed a decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to
ban the execution of defendants with mental health
conditions.
“We applaud the Supreme Court for
recognising that executing such individuals ‘does not meet
the ends of justice’,” said the experts.
On 10
February 2020, the Supreme Court held that where a medical
board certifies that the defendant is no longer able to
appreciate the rationale behind their death sentence, they
cannot be executed.
The decision also commuted the
death sentence for Ms. Kanizan Bibi and Mr. Imdad Ali to
life in prison, and ordered a fresh mercy petition be
Pakistan: UN experts welcome death penalty ban for individuals with mental health conditions GENEVA (18 February 2021) – UN human rights experts have welcomed a decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to ban the execution of defendants with mental health conditions.
“We applaud the Supreme Court for recognising that executing such individuals ‘does not meet the ends of justice’,” said the experts.
On 10 February 2020, the Supreme Court held that where a medical board certifies that the defendant is no longer able to appreciate the rationale behind their death sentence, they cannot be executed.
The decision also commuted the death sentence for Ms. Kanizan Bibi and Mr. Imdad Ali to life in prison, and ordered a fresh mercy petition be prepared for Mr. Ghulam Abbas, whose previous petition had been dismissed.
Pakistan: UN experts welcome death penalty ban for individuals with mental health conditions - Pakistan reliefweb.int - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reliefweb.int Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
After a long battle by human rights groups, led by Justice Project Pakistan, the Supreme Court has ordered that persons who are mentally insane cannot be sentenced to death and should instead.