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Pakistan imposes moratorium on executions during Ramadan Pakistan imposes moratorium on executions during Ramadan
(about 4 hours later)
Pakistan has imposed a one-month moratorium on executions during Ramadan, officials have said, providing temporary reprieve for a death row prisoner whose lawyers claim he was a juvenile at the time of his crime.Pakistan has imposed a one-month moratorium on executions during Ramadan, officials have said, providing temporary reprieve for a death row prisoner whose lawyers claim he was a juvenile at the time of his crime.
On Wednesday, in the face of international condemnation, Pakistan hanged one man allegedly tortured into confessing to murder as a minor and rejected an appeal from another, Shafqat Hussain, sentenced to hang for killing a seven-year-old boy in 2004. On Wednesday, in the face of international condemnation, Pakistan hanged one man allegedly tortured into confessing to murder as a minor, and rejected an appeal from another, Shafqat Hussain, sentenced to hang for killing a seven-year-old boy in 2004.
Related: Pakistan executes man who was 15 when convicted of murderRelated: Pakistan executes man who was 15 when convicted of murder
“It is a tradition that nobody is executed in the fasting month of Ramadan and the authorities have ordered that this tradition continues this year too,” said Nusrat Mangan, the inspector general of prisons in southern Sindh province, where Hussain has been held.“It is a tradition that nobody is executed in the fasting month of Ramadan and the authorities have ordered that this tradition continues this year too,” said Nusrat Mangan, the inspector general of prisons in southern Sindh province, where Hussain has been held.
“We have to seek death warrants two weeks prior to hang any convict, so his hanging will take place after at least one month,” Mangan told AFP.“We have to seek death warrants two weeks prior to hang any convict, so his hanging will take place after at least one month,” Mangan told AFP.
An official in the interior ministry confirmed that a notification had been issued to halt executions during Ramadan, which starts this week.An official in the interior ministry confirmed that a notification had been issued to halt executions during Ramadan, which starts this week.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says the country has hanged over 150 convicts since restarting executions in December following a shocking Taliban school massacre – more than Saudi Arabia over the same period.The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says the country has hanged over 150 convicts since restarting executions in December following a shocking Taliban school massacre – more than Saudi Arabia over the same period.
Related: Justice in Pakistan: "The government is hanging people left, right and centre"Related: Justice in Pakistan: "The government is hanging people left, right and centre"
A moratorium on the death penalty had been in force since 2008, and its end angered rights activists and alarmed some foreign countries. Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, many of whom have exhausted all avenues of appeal. A moratorium on the death penalty had been in force since 2008 and its end angered rights activists and alarmed some foreign countries. Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, many of whom have exhausted all avenues of appeal.
Critics say the country’s criminal justice system is marred by police torture and poor legal representation, meaning many of those facing the gallows have not had a fair trial.Critics say the country’s criminal justice system is marred by police torture and poor legal representation, meaning many of those facing the gallows have not had a fair trial.