September, 18 2015, 09:30am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
For further information, please contact clemency.wells@reprieve.org.uk / + 44 (0) 207 553 8161
Pakistan plans to hang paralysed man on Tuesday
The Pakistani authorities have set Tuesday 22 September as the date on which they will hang a paraplegic prisoner.
Abdul Basit (43) contracted tubercular meningitis while in prison, which has left him "bed-bound," according to a medical board report.
Basit's lawyers at Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) have filed a petition with the Supreme Court, arguing that to carry out the hanging would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. They are also calling on Pakistan's President to consider a mercy petition filed on 22 July, on which no decision has yet been made.
WASHINGTON
The Pakistani authorities have set Tuesday 22 September as the date on which they will hang a paraplegic prisoner.
Abdul Basit (43) contracted tubercular meningitis while in prison, which has left him "bed-bound," according to a medical board report.
Basit's lawyers at Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) have filed a petition with the Supreme Court, arguing that to carry out the hanging would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. They are also calling on Pakistan's President to consider a mercy petition filed on 22 July, on which no decision has yet been made.
Pakistan's prison guidelines require that a prisoner stands on the gallows in order to be hanged, and the authorities have not made clear how they intend to hang a prisoner who requires the use of a wheelchair.
The Pakistan Prison Rules state that the rope for hanging must be the correct length, in order to avoid prisoners facing protracted strangulation (if it is too long) or decapitation (if it is too short). The rules state that the rope's length is determined by measuring it from "the lower jaw of the condemned prisoner as he stands on the scaffold." This and other procedures set out in the rules cannot be followed in Basit's case, leaving open the possibility of a botched hanging.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) initially stayed Basit's case, but ruled earlier this month that it could go ahead, despite the prison's failure to make clear how the execution would be carried out. The Court added that Pakistan's obligations under international law "should be kept aside."
Commenting, Maya Foa said: "It may now just be days before we see the horrific spectacle of Pakistan hanging a parlaysed man - something which is likely to break Pakistan's own rules against cruel and unusual punishment. Worse still, Pakistan's Government has effectively ignored Basit's mercy petition, and seems prepared to push ahead with this execution even though the jail has no clear idea of how they will do it. Pakistan's President has the power to stay this execution - he must do so, without delay."
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
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"It is time that the international community gets serious about tackling inequality and financing global public goods."
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Fernando Haddad, Brazil's finance minister; Svenja Schulze, Germany's minister for economic cooperation and development; Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's finance minister; Carlos Cuerpo, Spain's minister of economy, trade, and business; and MarÃa Jesús Montero, Spain's first vice president and finance minister, made their case in an opinion piece for The Guardian.
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"What the international community managed to do with the global minimum tax on multinational companies, it can do with billionaires."
Brazil, Germany, and South Africa are all Group of 20 members while Spain is a permanent guest. The ministers noted that "Brazil has made the fight against hunger, poverty, and inequality a priority of its G20 presidency, a priority that German development policy also pursues and that Spain has ambitiously addressed domestically and globally."
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It is time that the international community gets serious about tackling inequality and financing global public goods. One of the key instruments that governments have for promoting more equality is tax policy. Not only does it have the potential to increase the fiscal space governments have to invest in social protection, education, and climate protection. Designed in a progressive way, it also ensures that everyone in society contributes to the common good in line with their ability to pay. A fair share contribution enhances social welfare.
With exactly these goals in mind, Brazil brought a proposal for a global minimum tax on billionaires to the negotiation table of the world's major economies for the first time. It is a necessary third pillar that complements the negotiations on the taxation of the digital economy and on a minimum corporate tax of 15% for multinationals. The renowned economist Gabriel Zucman sketched out how this might work. Currently, there are about 3,000 billionaires worldwide. The tax could be designed as a minimum levy equivalent to 2% of the wealth of the superrich. It would not apply to billionaires who already contribute a fair share in income taxes. However, those who manage to avoid paying income tax would be obliged to contribute more towards the common good.
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A few months ago, no one wanted to talk int. taxes, let alone on the super rich. Now we have a process (#G20), finance ministers (\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7 \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 & others) supporting it, \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea in part & everyone agreeing that proceeds should help fund climate and dev: https://t.co/ZldF557pAL— (@)
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