Underage: Rights activists demand Shafqat Hussain’s release

Claim the convict was a juvenile at the time of offence and had been forced to confess.

KARACHI: Child rights activists have demanded the release of Shafqat Hussain, claiming that the decision to punish an underage boy by the death penalty is against the law of the country.

“Shafqat should not be condemned to death as his age at the time of the offence was not ascertained,” explained Advocate Shahzad Akhtar, the lawyer representing Shafqat. He said that during the case procedure, the officials did not ask or determine Shafqat’s age. The verdict was subsequently announced without taking his age into consideration.

Advocate Akhtar was addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Thursday, accompanied by representatives of child rights organisations. He said that Shafqat should not be hanged as the law did not allow the hanging of underage persons. “It will be a violation of justice,” he said. Referring to the case as special and a very important one, Akbar said that the death warrant against Shafqat had been issued twice.



According to Shafqat’s elder brother, who wished not be named, Shafqat is the youngest among seven siblings and hails from a remote village of district Neelam, Azad Kashmir.

“He came to Karachi as a labourer,” said the aggrieved brother, adding that the family was informed four months after the verdict was announced by the court.

Mubashir Soomro of the Child Rights Movement, Sindh, said that the incident took place in 2004 when Shafqat was only around 14 years old. “He cannot be given the death penalty,” said Soomro, referring to the existing juvenile law.

The speakers alleged Shafqat was tortured by the police for at least nine days. “His age was declared as 26-years-old old but he actually wasn’t,” said Shafique Kandhro, the child protection officer at DevCon. He added that Shafqat was forced to confess to the murder.

The speakers demanded the government to immediately release Shafqat as he had already completed his sentence. “He should have been tried in the juvenile court. The age factor was not properly investigated and the torture marks are still present on the body,” said Soomro.

They appreciated the step taken by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan who had delayed the hanging. “He should not be hanged twice - whether he is guilty or not, he has already spent 11 years of his life in jail which is equivalent to a life sentence,” stressed Kandhro.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2015.