Just hours after innocent juvenile Aftab Bahadur was hanged in the early hours of this morning, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal for Shafqat Hussain- who was convicted as a juvenile and sentenced to death based on a ‘confession’ extracted after days of torture.
A black warrant had been issued for Shafqat Hussain earlier this week and his execution scheduled for 4am Tuesday morning, but a last-minute stay was issued. Shafqat’s juvenility and torture have never been fully investigated – despite the fact that earlier this year the concerns led Pakistan’s President, Mamnoon Hussain, to order a stay of execution and an inquiry.
The Supreme Court refused to even hear Shafqat’s appeal, despite the overwhelming evidence that had yet to be properly considered in relation to torture, juvenility and miscarriages of justice. Pakistan is a Common Law country, meaning that the Supreme Court could recognise an avenue for cases like Shafqat’s – where there is evidence of innocence and an illegal conviction – to be reopened despite all previous legal avenues being exhausted. Yet the Supreme Court would not consider this and refused to hear theappeal.
Earlier this week a group of UN experts expressed concern over the government-ordered inquiry into the case by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Authority (FIA). The FIA relied almost exclusively on an incorrect trial record in making an assessment that Shafqat was not a juvenile at the time of his arrest, and ignored school records (which have been withheld from Shafqat, his lawyers and the general public) which showed him to have been under 18 at the time.
A statement made Friday by Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Juan Méndez, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Gabriela Knaul, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; and Benyam Mezmur, chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Child, said: “To proceed with Mr. Hussain’s execution without proper investigation into the allegation that his confession was coerced under torture, and in spite of evidence that he was a child at the time of his alleged offence and of his possible innocence would be utterly unacceptable and in flagrant contravention of Pakistan’s national and international obligations.”
Commenting, Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve’s death penalty team, said: “Last night, in a truly tragic turn of events, Aftab Bahadur was executed – despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence and the fact he was convicted when just a child. And now Shafqat Hussain’s journey to the gallows could begin once again. Pakistan seems hell bent on rushing through executions of the more than 8000 people on its death row – as many as 1000 of whom could have been convicted as children. How many more people with flagrantly unsafe convictions will be executed before the government sees sense? The Pakistan government must issue another stay for Shafqat so that his age and torture may be properly investigated – and they must reinstate the moratorium in order to examine these problems which plague the entire death row.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $93,000 in one-time donations and to add 1295 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy