Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

Tue May 23 2006 6:17 pm

This a followup to my previous post on the imminent execution of Mirza Tahir Hussain. I just read this on The Times of London web site:

President Musharraf of Pakistan has postponed indefinitely the execution of Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, a British-Pakistani. He has spent 18 years in prison, despite being acquitted by the High Court a decade ago, and was to be executed on June 1. “The President has postponed the execution on compassionate grounds to allow Mr Hussain’s family to negotiate with the family of the victim,” an official said. Meanwhile, a court sentenced four men to death and three others to life in prison for a suicide attack on Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister, in 2004. [Emphasis added by me.]

This is the only report I have found so far. I am looking to get confirmation from other sources and will post as soon as I find out.

However, if this report is accurate, this is great news indeed.

UPDATE (May 23, 2006 6:26 PM): The BBC is also reporting that Mr. Hussain’s execution has been stayed:

A Leeds man on death row in Pakistan has been spared after the president called off next week’s execution.

…

The Pakistan High Commission in London said Hussain had been granted an indefinite stay of execution on Monday.

Under Islamic law, the families of the dead taxi driver and Hussain must reach agreement on how the case is to be settled, usually by some form of compensation.

Speaking from Islamabad on Tuesday, Hussain’s brother Amjad told the BBC: "The Pakistan High Commissioner phoned me last night to tell me we have an indefinite stay of execution."

 UPDATE (May 24, 2006 10:15 AM): AFP,  Reuters and The Times of London are now reporting that the stay of execution is only for a month.  According to the AFP report:

The president has granted a one-month extension on the application of the family," foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP. It will take effect from June 1, when an earlier month-long stay of execution was due to run out.

"This is basically if the victim’s family and the accused can work out something during that period," she said.

But Amjad Hussain told the BBC that the Pakistan High Commissioner telephoned him on Monday night to say that Mirza had received an "indefinite" postponement of the death sentence.

"This is great news, but it is only a step in the right direction," he was quoted as saying. "It is not the end of the road because I will not give up this campaign until my brother is freed and allowed to come back to his family in England."

A spokesman for the Pakistani High Commission in London also said earlier that the postponement was indefinite.

death penalty double jeapardy human rights islamic sharia law mirza tahir hussain pakistan pervez musharraf

 

20 Responses to “Mirza Tahir Hussain’s Execution Postponed”

1. Robbie Says:
   May 23rd, 2006 at 11:27 pm

   If this is true, all I can say is “Wow!” I, and I’m sure others did too, wrote an email to Musharraf to have him look into Hussain’s case and something was done. This made my day!

   Too bad that doesn’t work here in the States.

2. Mash Says:
   May 23rd, 2006 at 11:56 pm

   Robbie, I trust that the BBC report is pretty conclusive. Although I have not seen anything yet on the Pakistani newspaper websites.

   Musharraf needs all the good press he can get. Tony Blair apparently got personally involved. And I think the emails from the US and the UK must have started to add up. He probably wanted to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment that was caused by his handling of the Mukhtar Mai situation. This time he quit while he was ahead. =d>

   Thanks to everyone who chipped in with emails and letters. Thanks also to John Aravosis for giving this case attention on his blog. o:-)

   This is of course not the end of the affair. Mirza Tahir Hussain is still in jail. They have to work out some deal with the Taxi driver’s family to get him out of jail and safely back to Britain. But this is a positive start and hopefully this will come to a good conclusion soon. >-

3. Mr. Bill Says:
   May 24th, 2006 at 6:43 am

   Mash, thanks for bringing this to our attention. (I addressed Mussharraf as “Your excellency”, was that the proper form of address?)

4. A. Cottreau Says:
   May 24th, 2006 at 11:27 am

   (I addressed Mussharraf as “Your excellency”, was that the proper form of address?)

   I could think of a few other ways to address this leader, although proper would not properly characterize them.

5. jayann Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 1:13 am

   Here’s the Guardian story. Sajjad Karim, MEP for Northwest England, is lobbying Mussharaf personally and giving him a plea for clemency. I suppose if all else fails the answer is to try to help raise the blood money to buy Hussain out and bring him home. I will keep an eye on this.

6. Mash Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 2:19 am

   Mr. Bill & A. Cottreau, “His Excellency” works fine in formal circumstances. Though it would sound kind of hollow coming from me since I have already called him a “thug” in my earlier posts. :d

   But this can be a political win for him, so I appeal to his political side. He can use this issue to his gain and perhaps the rest of us can use him to spare the life of an innocent man. :-”

   jayann, thanks for the Guardian link and the link to the MEP’s site. His quotes struck exactly the right tone.

   Is this news getting any coverage on television in the UK? How big is this story there? Here, its a below the fold story at best in the print media and I have seen zero coverage on TV.

7. Kamran Khan Says:
   May 29th, 2006 at 1:41 am

   Thanks to all of those persons who have played there role in this case.
   May God Help MR.Hussain.

8. Mash Says:
   May 29th, 2006 at 1:48 pm

   Kamran, it is difficult for us to keep abreast of the story from so far. I survey the Pakistani papers on the web for news to see if I can pick up any crumbs.

   What is the sentiment about this in Pakistan? I read the editorial in the Pakistan Observer and was shocked. How does the man on the street feel? I look forward to your insight. Thanks.

9. Tanz Says:
   May 31st, 2006 at 7:47 am

   Salaam all

   If you haven’t seen this on the news, please see channel4’s special report, you can watch it online.(copy and paste the link on your browser)
   http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=2426

   Thanks

10. Beagle Says:
    July 27th, 2006 at 12:47 pm

    From Yahoo News Today:
    

    Pakistan delays Briton’s hanging Thursday July 27, 02:47 PM

    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan postponed for a third time the hanging of a Briton convicted of murder in order to give politicians another month to persuade the victim’s family to grant a pardon, a cabinet minister said on Thursday.

    Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, has already twice had his execution stayed following the intervention of President Pervez Musharraf, but last week a new date of August 3 was set for the hanging.

    “In principle, it has been agreed that an extension will be granted and the directives will be issued soon,” Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told Reuters.
    “This is meant to give them a chance to settle the issue,” Durrani added.

    Under Islamic sharia law, heirs of a victim may pardon a condemned man in return for blood money.

    So far, Hussain’s family have been unable to reach a settlement with the relatives of the taxi driver he was convicted of shooting dead 18 years ago.

    Hussain, who is of Pakistani descent, said at his trial that the driver had tried to sexually assault him, and then pulled a gun that went off when the two struggled.

    The dead man’s family hail from a conservative Pashtun tribal area where accepting such payment would be regarded as dishonourable.

    However, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and one of the most powerful politicians, has agreed to help negotiations, along with his deputy, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed.

    Hussain, who has now spent half his life in jail, was originally acquitted by Pakistan’s High Court, but the Islamic Federal Shariat Court sentenced him to death by hanging in 1998.

    The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003, and a review petition was rejected a year later.

    Hussain’s family had said they would appeal to Musharraf to spare his life if needed, but Durrani noted no president had taken such a decision in the last 30 years.

11. Mash Says:
    July 27th, 2006 at 3:07 pm

    Beagle, that is great news! Thank you for tracking that down. I had not seen it yet.

    I do wish that they would spare him and his family the torture of these monthly stays and simply pardon him. There is plenty of evidence to do just that.

12. Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying » Pakistan Postpones Mirza Tahir Hussain’s Execution Again Says:
    July 28th, 2006 at 9:20 pm

    […] [Hat tip to Beagle for bringing this to my attention in a comment.] […]

13. hanif khan Says:
    August 4th, 2006 at 3:32 pm

    I am in the favor of letting this man go because he is innocent. I believe instead of apealing to Musharaf and British MPs, people should write to murdered man’s family and try to convince them to forgive this young man. Perhaps it was an acciedent and driver himself was some what resposible.

14. Johar Ali Says:
    October 19th, 2006 at 4:18 pm

    I am a pushtoon and know how to approach them in such cases. I hope Mr. Hussain family find approach them the right way. There are many ways they will agree. I am sure the first one is not the best way. The first oen is to let a man from the deceased family family marry a girl from the accused family. second is approach them through their closest friends and Jirga and ask for forgiveness with a secret offer of money. I will be welling to serve as a liason if necessary and will be welling to find sources in making the proper connections.

15. Tayyaba Samina Says:
    October 20th, 2006 at 9:16 pm

    I am sure that Mirza Tahir is innocent. The best strategy to apprroach relogious clergy of MMA, and pressure them to ask the victom family for forgiveness. Allah always appreciate forgiveness.

16. Mash Says:
    October 20th, 2006 at 11:10 pm

    It looks like Mirza Tahir has gotten another 2 month stay of execution because Musharraf does not want to execute him while Prince Charles is visiting - that would just not be proper, apparently!

    I think with the whole world watching, Musharraf would be stupid to execute an innocent man based on what was a sham trial in the Islamic courts.

17. rabia Says:
    October 26th, 2006 at 3:31 pm

    The brother of a Briton who has been on death row in Pakistan for 18 years is flying to Islamabad after reports that Mirza Tahir Hussain has been beaten up by prison officials. Amjad Hussain said that he wanted to get to the bottom of claims in Pakistan’s Urdu press that his brother was attacked after making an illicit call to the BBC’s Asian Network by mobile phone. He was speaking after a Westminster Hall debate in which Greg Mulholland (Lib Dem, Leeds NW) urged Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf to use his authority to get the sentence commuted

18. KS Dallas Says:
    November 17th, 2006 at 1:57 pm

    It has just been reported that Mirza Tahir Hussain has been released and is on his way back to the UK! The British Government, reportedly, took custody of Mirza to protect him from the victim\’s family and any revenge that may be sought. He is said to be on a plane home now. How fortunate for him! It shows that miracles can happen. After 18 years wrongfully imprisoned and several postponed executions, he is now a free man. WOW!

19. Mash Says:
    November 17th, 2006 at 6:32 pm

    KS, I also just heard about it. Tess sent me email earlier saying his sentence had been commuted to life, and today CNN is reporting that he is on a flight back. Great news indeed!

20. Farah Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 5:30 am

    Fantastic news, my thoughts and prayers have been with the Hussain family since this story was brought to my attention. Lets just all hope that Mirza can now be left to rebuild his shattered life, he may look aged but he is only 36. May Allah give him strength, a lesson to us all….NEVER give up your faith. Always have Sabar (patience).

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