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Abdul Basit: Death row delay for Pakistan paraplegic Abdul Basit: Death row delay for Pakistan paraplegic
(about 1 hour later)
Pakistani prison officials have missed Tuesday's court deadline to explain how they would hang a paraplegic man.Pakistani prison officials have missed Tuesday's court deadline to explain how they would hang a paraplegic man.
Abdul Basit is paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair after an illness he contracted while in prison.Abdul Basit is paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair after an illness he contracted while in prison.
Abdul Basit was convicted six years ago of murder but maintains his innocence. He was to be hanged in Lahore last month but this was postponed. A petition for his pardon was dismissed. He was convicted six years ago of murder but maintains his innocence. He was to be hanged in Lahore last month but this was postponed. A petition for his pardon was dismissed.
Hanging him would constitute cruel and degrading treatment, his lawyers say.Hanging him would constitute cruel and degrading treatment, his lawyers say.
They add that this is prohibited under Pakistani and international law.They add that this is prohibited under Pakistani and international law.
Pakistan has executed more than 200 people since reintroducing the death penalty in December 2014.Pakistan has executed more than 200 people since reintroducing the death penalty in December 2014.
At the time the government said it was a measure to combat terrorism after the Taliban massacred more than 150 people, most of them children, in a Peshawar school.At the time the government said it was a measure to combat terrorism after the Taliban massacred more than 150 people, most of them children, in a Peshawar school.
Pakistan's jail manual gives no instructions on how to execute disabled prisoners.Pakistan's jail manual gives no instructions on how to execute disabled prisoners.
A high court judge had told prison officials they had until 1 September to come up with specific steps if they were to be allowed to proceed with the execution of Abdul Basit. A high court judge had told prison officials they had until 1 September to come up with specific steps if they were to be allowed to proceed with the execution of Mr Basit.
The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil says Mr Basit remains on death row but his sentence has effectively been stayed until the jail authorities come up with a clear plan for how they will execute him.The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil says Mr Basit remains on death row but his sentence has effectively been stayed until the jail authorities come up with a clear plan for how they will execute him.
Executions around the worldExecutions around the world
Read more:Read more:
What is behind Pakistan's dramatic rise in executions?What is behind Pakistan's dramatic rise in executions?
The Pakistani hangman and his family traditionThe Pakistani hangman and his family tradition
Abdul Basit was convicted six years ago of murder but maintains his innocence. Mr Basit was convicted six years ago of murder but maintains his innocence.
Since contracting tubercular meningitis in prison, he has been paralysed from the waist down.Since contracting tubercular meningitis in prison, he has been paralysed from the waist down.
His lawyers contend that he has already suffered "unusual punishment" and to hang him would constitute a form of "double punishment" which would be illegal.His lawyers contend that he has already suffered "unusual punishment" and to hang him would constitute a form of "double punishment" which would be illegal.
Last week the charity Reprieve called for Pakistan to halt its "grisly experiment with the gallows" and urged the country's judges to enforce the rule of law. "It's shocking that the Pakistani authorities are seeking to hang a paraplegic man - not least because it was the terrible conditions on death row that led to his illness and disability," Maya Foa of the charity Reprieve told the BBC.
Pakistan has the world's largest number of death row inmates, with more than 8,000 people reported to be awaiting execution and it is on course to have one of the highest rates of executions in the world. "The fact that officials are prepared to hang Basit, without a clear protocol for doing so, shows they are even prepared to bend Pakistan's law to breaking point."
Last week Reprieve called for Pakistan to halt its "grisly experiment with the gallows" and urged the country's judges to enforce the rule of law.
Earlier this month, Pakistan executed a man convicted of killing a child in 2004, despite appeals from international human rights groups.
Lawyers for Shafqat Hussain said he was 14 when found guilty and his confession was extracted by torture.
Pakistan has the world's largest number of death row inmates, with more than 8,000 people reported to be awaiting execution, and it is on course to have one of the highest rates of executions in the world.