19.1 C
Athens
Σάββατο, 2 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Human Rights Watch asks Pakistan to amend ‘blood money’ laws to deliver justice

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

Highlighting the “severe miscarriage of justice” due to Pakistan’s existing infamous “blood money” laws since 1990, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called on the government to amend provisions of the criminal law that allow for murder and other serious offenses as “private disputes”.

The provisions, popularly called “blood money” laws are the result of a 1990 Presidential Ordinance that amended the Pakistan Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code ostensibly to make them more consistent with Islam following a court decision that held that murder and several other serious offenses should not be treated as offenses against the state but as private disputes.

The Ordinance went further than the court decision, which had made a distinction between deliberate and unintentional murder and had allowed for the possibility of a “compromise” only in the case of unintentional murder. The Ordinance, however, did not make such a distinction.
The Pakistani legal system’s treatment of murder cases as private disputes instead of as an offense against the state has had a disastrous impact on the administration of justice, Human Rights Watch said.

“The Pakistan justice system’s treatment of murder as a private dispute sabotages the rights of victims to seek justice and of all Pakistanis to have equal protection of the law,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“No state should act as a bystander in dealing with egregious crimes, which favors people accused of these crimes who are wealthy or powerful,” she added.
The rights group went on to cite several examples of cases where the draconian criminal laws led to severe crimes going unpunished.
In one example, on November 3 last year, the severely bruised body of Nazim Jokhio, a local activist, was discovered at a farmhouse in Malir, Karachi, Sindh province, HRW said.

- Advertisement -

Days before his death, Jokhio had filmed foreign guests of the farmhouse owners hunting a houbura bustard, an endangered bird, and had asked them to stop.
On March 30, Shireen Jokhio, the victim’s wife, posted a recorded video message on social media saying that she was “forgiving” the accused and would no longer pursue the case because she is “weak” and cannot fight the case “alone.”

In another instance, in September 2019, Salahuddin Ayubi, who had been arrested for robbing an ATM, was found dead in police custody. Ayubi’s body bore marks of torture. His family said he had mental health disabilities. His father filed a criminal case against three police officers alleging that his son was tortured to death, but in October 2019, Ayubi’s family “pardoned” the police officers and declined to prosecute the case.
Other rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have also emphasized the need for revoking such provisions from the country’s criminal law.

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

China Tries to Blot out Tibetan Criticism of Mining Firm’s Damage to the Environment 

Chinese censors are trying to prevent people from viewing posts that allege severe environmental damage in Tibet caused by sand mining. A young Tibetan man...

Protests erupt in Balochistan as citizens demand justice amid rising violence

Amid ongoing atrocities and lawlessness in Balochistan, a protest took place in Buleda as residents rallied for the immediate arrest of the killers of...

Chinese armed forces are not as strong as they seem, according to experts

China is seen as a formidable power due to its robust economic growth and military expansion in recent decades, but if experts are to...

Evolving Chinese Ransomware Attacks: Serious Threat to Global Cyberspace Ecosystem

Ransomware is a type of malware that blackmails users for ransom by blocking access to devices or data. In general ransomware can be categorized...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Διασυρμός της ελληνικής εξωτερικής πολιτικής!-Τα Σκόπια προωθούν την… πολιτιστική τους κληρονομιά ως ”Μακεδονία”!

Η Διοίκηση Προστασίας Πολιτιστικής Κληρονομιάς στο πλαίσιο των δραστηριοτήτων της προωθεί την πολιτιστική κληρονομιά σε μια από τις πιο αναγνωρισμένες εκθέσεις για την αρχαιολογία...

Ο Μακρόν πάει στη Βραζιλία με πακέτο εξοπλισμών – «Πασάρει» Rafale, ελικόπτερα H145 και πυροβόλα Caesar

Λίγο αφότου η Ιταλία πρότεινε την πώληση 30 ελαφρών μαχητικών αεροσκαφών M-346 στη Βραζιλία, ο Γάλλος πρόεδρος Εμανουέλ Μακρόν ετοιμάζει ένα ευρύ αμυντικό πακέτο που...