Mirza Tahir Hussain ( ur, مرزا طاہر حسین; born 1 June 1970) is a British man who spent 18 years on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of a

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

driver named Jamshed Khan in 1988. Following his conviction, Mirza was held in the

Adiala jail Central Jail Rawalpindi (also known as Adiala Jail) is a prominent prison in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. History The Central Jail Rawalpindi was built from the late 1970s and early 1980s during the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, afte ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. He was paroled on 17 November 2006.

Conviction

Hussain asserted that he killed Khan in

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

, as Khan pulled out a gun and tried to sexually assault him. In the ensuing struggle, the gun went off, fatally injuring Khan. His conviction was quashed by the Pakistani Supreme Court, but he was then found guilty by The Federal Sharia Court. He was due to be hanged on 1 June 2006. The execution was delayed multiple times from the initial June 2006 date. The first delay, from June to August, may have resulted from an effort to avoid an execution during a visit to Pakistan by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. A second delay moved the scheduled date back to 1 September 2006. This would reportedly give Mr. Hussain's family time to negotiate

blood money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim Films * Blood Money (1917 film), ''Blood Money'' (1917 film), a film starring Harry Carey * Blood Money (1921 film), ''Blood Money'' (1921 film ...

with the relatives of the victim, a practice under

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. The next delay, to 1 October 2006 at 0500 BST, may have been related to the observation of the holy month of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

. Mirza's brother, Amjad Hussain, was outspoken in his defense, referring to the execution delays as "psychological torture... it's die another day." "There are serious doubts about the safety of Mirza Tahir Hussain's conviction and he still faces execution in a matter of weeks," said Tim Hancock of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. Catherine Wolthuizen of Fair Trials Abroad commented that the death sentence was based on "fabricated evidence and double jeopardy" and that execution "would be an appalling travesty of justice." The victim's mother, Zarvari Bibi, characterized the death sentence as the will of God and had threatened to set herself on fire if he did not hang.

Commutation and parole

In spite of a clemency plea from Prince Charles, Mirza was given only a two-month stay of execution with a new execution date set for 31 December 2006. The President of Pakistan,

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

, initially hesitated to take any action, claiming that he was not a dictator and that he could not violate a court judgement. However, Musharraf ultimately intervened, resulting in commutation of the sentence to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Under Pakistani law, those given life sentences are eligible for parole after 25 years. Since Mirza had served 18 years, and maintained good behavior, he was paroled early on November 17. He has since returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

."Death row Briton flies back to UK"
BBC News. 17 November 2006.

Notes

References

"Death row man's execution delayed"
BBC News. 19 October 2006
"Death row man's 'nightmare ends'"
BBC News. 16 November 2006
"Fateful trip sealed man's future"
BBC News. 16 November 2006
"Death row man 'being counselled'"
BBC News. 18 November 2006
"'No reprieve' for death row man "
BBC News. 1 October 2006
"Death row case 'to be reviewed' "
BBC News. 12 September 2006
"Death row man pleads for his life "
BBC News. 7 September 2006
"Execution delay for death row man"
BBC News. 16 August 2006
"'No mercy' for death row Briton "
BBC News. 1 August 2006
"Execution delay for death row man "
BBC News. 27 July 2006
"New execution date set for Briton "
BBC News. 21 July 2006
"Brother talks of death row ordeal "
BBC News. 26 May 2006

External links

Amnesty UK - Death Penalty
- urgent appeal against execution of Mirza Hussain
Amnesty UK - Commute death sentence of Mirza Tahir Hussain

- Muslim Parliament expresses concern over Briton on death row in Pakistan 10/05/06
Islamic Human Rights Commission - British Muslim Facing Execution in Pakistan
- 11/05/06

- 19/05/06 * ttp://underprogress.blogs.com/weblog/2006/10/the_damning_sil.html Under Progress - The damning silence over Mirza Tahir Hussain- 3/10/06
Indymedia Ireland - Pakistan: Death Penalty, Unfair Trial, Right to Life
- 12/10/06
BBC News - Blair pledge over execution case
- 18/10/06
Channel 4 News - Briton's execution timed for Prince Charles tour
- 18/10/06
The Independent - Pakistan names date for execution as pressure grows over prince's visit
- 20/10/06
BBC News - Death row man 'glad to be home'
- 18/11/06
BBC News - Adjusting will be hard for death row man
- 18/11/06
BBC News - Death row man speaks of freedom
- 27/11/06

- 28/11/06 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Mirza 1970 births Living people Prisoners sentenced to death by Pakistan People convicted of murder by Pakistan People from Leeds British people convicted of murder British people imprisoned abroad English people of Pakistani descent Overturned convictions in Pakistan

Conviction

Commutation and parole

See also

Notes

References

External links