2012 army camp attack: LHC stays execution of five convicts
Govt files review against the decision; SHC suspends black warrants of two LeJ militants.
RAWALPINDI/KARACHI:
A Lahore High Court (LHC) bench on Monday stayed the scheduled execution of five death-row prisoners, who were convicted by a military court for the 2012 attack on an army camp in Gujrat that killed seven army officials. The convicts – Ehsan Azeem, Asif Idrees, Amir Yousaf, Kamran Aslam and Umar Nadeem – were scheduled to be executed in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail on Monday.
Justice Arshad Mahmood Tabassum of the LHC, Rawalpindi bench, directed the military authorities to provide the convicts with copies of the military court’s proceedings and judgment till the next date of hearing to be fixed by the registrar’s office.
Arguing before the single-judge bench, the counsel for the convicts, Advocate Laiq Khan Swati, said that the right to fair trial was guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution. “However, in case of my clients no lawyer was provided to represent them,” he said.
He added that his clients were tried by a field general court martial and their subsequent appeals were also dismissed by the military court of appeals without giving them a chance to defend themselves.
Talking to The Express Tribune outside the court, Swati said he came to know through the media that his clients would be hanged today (Monday), adding that he didn’t have any document showing that the army chief has signed their death warrants. He claimed that his clients – all of them civilians – had no connection with any banned militant outfit.
Lahore High Court Bar Association’s coordinator for missing persons Col (retd) Inamur Rahim claimed that these men had been picked up by security forces from different areas and their families had no idea about their whereabouts. “Military officials told the court that these men were facing murder charges. But even if they were facing charges, being civilians they could not be tried by a military court,” he added.
Later in the day, the government challenged the LHC order, saying that the convicts’ lawyers concealed the facts. “All legal requirements were followed during the proceedings and the judgment was given on merit,” the government’s attorney Chaudhry Masroof stated in the review petition. He requested the court to withdraw the stay order on execution. The court will take up the petition on Tuesday (Today).
SHC postpones execution of two LeJ convicts
In a related development, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday postponed the hanging of two convicted militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) sectarian group, ruling that the trial court issued their death warrants without following rules. The convicts – Attaullah alias Muhammad Qasim and Mohammad Azam – were scheduled to be hanged on Tuesday (today).
A division bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, ordered Anti-Terrorism Court-V to issue black warrants for their execution afresh “strictly in accordance with the amended rules”.
Attaullah and Azam were convicted for murdering Dr Raza Pirani in the Soldier Bazaar neighbourhood of Karachi in 2001 and their sentences were upheld by the SHC and Supreme Court while the president had also turned down their mercy appeals. On December 19, ATC-V had issued black warrants for their execution at 6:30am on December 23 in the Sukkur central jail.
The lawyer for the convicts, Abdul Razzak, said Attaullah’s father filed an application with the ATC, requesting not to issue black warrants till a decision on the second review petition, which is pending before the Supreme Court. “However, the court issued black warrants, which is a violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution,” he said, requesting the court to suspend black warrants.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2014.
A Lahore High Court (LHC) bench on Monday stayed the scheduled execution of five death-row prisoners, who were convicted by a military court for the 2012 attack on an army camp in Gujrat that killed seven army officials. The convicts – Ehsan Azeem, Asif Idrees, Amir Yousaf, Kamran Aslam and Umar Nadeem – were scheduled to be executed in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail on Monday.
Justice Arshad Mahmood Tabassum of the LHC, Rawalpindi bench, directed the military authorities to provide the convicts with copies of the military court’s proceedings and judgment till the next date of hearing to be fixed by the registrar’s office.
Arguing before the single-judge bench, the counsel for the convicts, Advocate Laiq Khan Swati, said that the right to fair trial was guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution. “However, in case of my clients no lawyer was provided to represent them,” he said.
He added that his clients were tried by a field general court martial and their subsequent appeals were also dismissed by the military court of appeals without giving them a chance to defend themselves.
Talking to The Express Tribune outside the court, Swati said he came to know through the media that his clients would be hanged today (Monday), adding that he didn’t have any document showing that the army chief has signed their death warrants. He claimed that his clients – all of them civilians – had no connection with any banned militant outfit.
Lahore High Court Bar Association’s coordinator for missing persons Col (retd) Inamur Rahim claimed that these men had been picked up by security forces from different areas and their families had no idea about their whereabouts. “Military officials told the court that these men were facing murder charges. But even if they were facing charges, being civilians they could not be tried by a military court,” he added.
Later in the day, the government challenged the LHC order, saying that the convicts’ lawyers concealed the facts. “All legal requirements were followed during the proceedings and the judgment was given on merit,” the government’s attorney Chaudhry Masroof stated in the review petition. He requested the court to withdraw the stay order on execution. The court will take up the petition on Tuesday (Today).
SHC postpones execution of two LeJ convicts
In a related development, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday postponed the hanging of two convicted militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) sectarian group, ruling that the trial court issued their death warrants without following rules. The convicts – Attaullah alias Muhammad Qasim and Mohammad Azam – were scheduled to be hanged on Tuesday (today).
A division bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, ordered Anti-Terrorism Court-V to issue black warrants for their execution afresh “strictly in accordance with the amended rules”.
Attaullah and Azam were convicted for murdering Dr Raza Pirani in the Soldier Bazaar neighbourhood of Karachi in 2001 and their sentences were upheld by the SHC and Supreme Court while the president had also turned down their mercy appeals. On December 19, ATC-V had issued black warrants for their execution at 6:30am on December 23 in the Sukkur central jail.
The lawyer for the convicts, Abdul Razzak, said Attaullah’s father filed an application with the ATC, requesting not to issue black warrants till a decision on the second review petition, which is pending before the Supreme Court. “However, the court issued black warrants, which is a violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution,” he said, requesting the court to suspend black warrants.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2014.