The appeals were filed by Additional Prosecutor General Abdul Samad, in which he contended that the convicts given life terms by the trial court were the key culprits in the case and hence, they should be awarded death sentences.
The appeal for death penalties was filed against convicts Muhammad Waris, Hasan Raza, Qaisar alias Mooda, Ateeb alias Nosha, Asghar Ali and Jamshed alias Sheeda. The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Gujranwala had awarded them life imprisonment on September 20.
The additional prosecutor general told The Express Tribune that the role of these convicts was identical to the role of those who were awarded death sentences on four counts. Samad said they had asked that the court award the other six men death penalties on four counts too — on two counts under article 302 of the PPC and on two counts under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). He said that the trial court had ignored the evidence against them while awarding them a lesser sentence.
An appeal was also filed against the acquittal of Muhammad Asghar, Awais, Nadeem Hussain, Shamas Ali and Muhammad Akram. The court had acquitted them, giving them the benefit of doubt. In the appeal, Samad submitted that they had enough evidence to prove their involvement in the incident. However, he submitted that the court did not take the evidence into account and had acquitted them. He appealed to the court to award them death penalties for their participation in the public lynching of the two brothers.
However, the government has also filed appeals against the accused and none against the police officials who were awarded three-year sentences for professional negligence. The government has not filed an appeal against the suspension of the sentence of former District police officer Waqar Chohan either.
The ATC had awarded a three-year sentence to Chohan, former SHO Rana Ilyas, ASI Waris and constables Tariq Mahmood, Muhammad Akram, Mubarak Ali, Muhammad Yasin, Muhammad Bashir and Naseer Ahmed.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2011.
COMMENTS (5)
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The death sentance woluld be a joke as it is an easy way out.They should be killed in the same way and that would be justice.
SpatialOrientation Are you in your senses? End death penalty, so people will be free wheeling & killing whomever they want, without the thought of repercussions?
Hang all of them. Why are you aquitting some?
We need to end the death penalty! Murder is never justice. Innocents have surely been executed in the past and will be in the future. It is just flawed public policy. Sending inmates to death row even costs more than imposing life sentences. Kill Capital Punishment!! More commentary and coverage at http://spatialorientation.com/tag/death-penalty
Hang all of them. The more the merrier.
Punjab Govt. should get serious because their employees [the police on duty at the scene] was definitely derelict in their duty