Executions in Pakistan

USPA NEWS - Pakistan hangs Shafqat Hussain despite appeals. Defenders say convict was a teenager when he killed a boy in 2004 and that he was tortured into confessing. His lawyers and family say he was only 15 years old at the time of the killing but according to a federal investigation, he was 23.

Death row prisoner Shafqat Hussain was executed on 4 August at the Karachi Central Prison in Pakistan, despite serious doubts about his age and credible allegations that torture may have been used to extract a confession in the case. The execution was carried out in disregard of the calls from many sides, including the European Union, for a better investigation into his case.

In the Council conclusions on Pakistan of 20 July 2015, the EU urges Pakistan to reinstate the moratorium immediately, to commute sentences of persons sentenced to death as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty and to respect fully all international obligations. Pakistan's obligations under international law prohibit the death sentence for crimes committed by persons under eighteen years of age and require prompt and impartial investigation where there is reasonable ground to believe that torture has been committed. Effective implementation of 27 international conventions, including some fundamental conventions on human rights and labour rights, is a requirement under the European Union's GSP+ scheme.