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| Version 8 | Version 9 |
|---|---|
| Death row Briton leaves Pakistan | Death row Briton leaves Pakistan |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A British man who spent 18 years in a Pakistani jail has been freed and has flown out of the country, a day after his death sentence was lifted. | A British man who spent 18 years in a Pakistani jail has been freed and has flown out of the country, a day after his death sentence was lifted. |
| Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, was convicted in 1989 of murdering a taxi driver, but always said the killing was in self-defence. | |
| His brother Amjad said: "We are delighted and thrilled." | His brother Amjad said: "We are delighted and thrilled." |
| Mr Hussain said his brother had suffered beyond belief and would need help to adjust to life outside prison. | Mr Hussain said his brother had suffered beyond belief and would need help to adjust to life outside prison. |
| Asked by reporters how his mother had reacted to the news of the release, he said: "She can't wait to hold her son in her arms." | Asked by reporters how his mother had reacted to the news of the release, he said: "She can't wait to hold her son in her arms." |
| Yesterday was wonderful when his sentence was commuted, but today we have the news everyone was really hoping for Greg Mulholland MP Trip sealed man's fate | Yesterday was wonderful when his sentence was commuted, but today we have the news everyone was really hoping for Greg Mulholland MP Trip sealed man's fate |
| Mr Hussain said President Pervez Musharraf, who commuted the death sentence on Thursday to life imprisonment, "had shown himself to be an enlightened man who has rectified this miscarriage of justice". | Mr Hussain said President Pervez Musharraf, who commuted the death sentence on Thursday to life imprisonment, "had shown himself to be an enlightened man who has rectified this miscarriage of justice". |
| News of his release broke on Friday morning when Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters: "Mirza Tahir Hussain... is a free person now and he can go wherever he wants to go." | News of his release broke on Friday morning when Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters: "Mirza Tahir Hussain... is a free person now and he can go wherever he wants to go." |
| Later, a British High Commission spokesman was reported as saying Hussain was on his way home. | Later, a British High Commission spokesman was reported as saying Hussain was on his way home. |
| Before Hussain was freed, there were pleas for clemency from the Prince of Wales, Prime Minister Tony Blair, European politicians and human rights groups. | Before Hussain was freed, there were pleas for clemency from the Prince of Wales, Prime Minister Tony Blair, European politicians and human rights groups. |
| Death sentence | Death sentence |
| The interior ministry in Pakistan said he had been released into the care of the British High Commission in Islamabad. | The interior ministry in Pakistan said he had been released into the care of the British High Commission in Islamabad. |
| Greg Mulholland, the Hussain family's MP in Leeds, said: "Yesterday was wonderful when his sentence was commuted, but today we have the news everyone was really hoping for." | Greg Mulholland, the Hussain family's MP in Leeds, said: "Yesterday was wonderful when his sentence was commuted, but today we have the news everyone was really hoping for." |
| Hussain was originally acquitted of the murder by Pakistan's High Court, but an Islamic court sentenced him to death in 1998. | Hussain was originally acquitted of the murder by Pakistan's High Court, but an Islamic court sentenced him to death in 1998. |
| The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003, and a review petition was rejected a year later. | The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003, and a review petition was rejected a year later. |
| But the government put off his execution several times, most recently until the end of this year. | But the government put off his execution several times, most recently until the end of this year. |
| Authorities had hoped a blood-money settlement, permitted under Islamic law, could be reached with the dead man's family. | Authorities had hoped a blood-money settlement, permitted under Islamic law, could be reached with the dead man's family. |
| But the relatives refused to negotiate, saying to do so would be dishonourable. | But the relatives refused to negotiate, saying to do so would be dishonourable. |
| The family of the victim said on Thursday they were furious the sentence had been commuted and planned to appeal against the decision. | The family of the victim said on Thursday they were furious the sentence had been commuted and planned to appeal against the decision. |