Death sentences¶

The number of death sentences dropped sharply between 2019 and 2020: from 632+ to 49+. Amnesty International estimates that this decrease may have been due to the disruption of judicial proceedings during the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 4,500 people have been sentenced to death since 2004.

According to the Juvenile Justice System Act “No person who was a juvenile offender at the time of commission of an offence shall be awarded punishment of death.” Justice Project Pakistan claims that three of their clients were minors at the time of their offences. According to the organisation, convictions are not typically appealed, due to the lack of birth registration documents and general misinformation about children’s rights in Pakistan.

Homosexuality is punishable by death according to the Criminal Code.

The main reasons for conviction for those executed between December 2014 and October 2018 were murder (70%), terrorism (17%), and killing during an armed robbery (7%).

Executions¶

In 2020, no executions were recorded for the first time since the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty in 2014. In 2015, Pakistan conducted 20% of the world’s executions. The province of Punjab has executed 404 people since 2014. Other Pakistani provinces have carried out a total of 213 executions over the same period.

The time between the announcement of the execution date and the execution itself varies from province to province. In Punjab, this period is three to five days.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that nearly 70 people have been lynched on blasphemy charges since 1990.

In February 2021, the Supreme Court banned the execution of people suffering from severe mental disorders. They declared that: “If a condemned prisoner, due to mental illness, is found to be unable to comprehend the rationale and reason behind his/her punishment, then carrying out the death sentence will not meet the ends of justice.”

Prisoners sentenced to death awaiting execution¶

The average time between the death sentence and the execution is 11 years.
Most of those sentenced to death are held in Punjab. There were 6,604 in 2012 and 3,890 in 2018. About 83% of people facing the death penalty are thus incarcerated in this province in 2018.
In 2020, there are more than 4,000 prisoners sentenced to death awaiting execution.

Pardons and commutations¶

The President of Pakistan has the power to grant pardon. However, all petitions submitted since December 2014 have been denied.

Between 2010 and 2018, the Supreme Court acquitted 39% of those sentenced to death. It has overturned 83% of death sentences confirmed by the High Court since 2014. These are usually commuted to life imprisonment. On average, a prisoner sentenced to death waits ten years for their case to be heard by the Supreme Court.

In June 2020, the High Court of Peshawar overturned the sentences of 196 people tried by military courts for terrorism. The majority had been sentenced to death. Most had been detained incommunicado for several years.

The Lahore High Court commuted Mohammad I.’s death sentence to life imprisonment in June 2020. He had spent 18 years in prison for an offence committed when he was a minor, according to human rights organisations.

Legal aid is provided. However, in practice, the assistance is inadequate. Justice Project Pakistan reported that only a few lawyers, with limited experience, provide such assistance. In return, they are paid the minimum fee for their services and are frequently overworked. Many prisoners hire private lawyers at a considerable cost. Most lawyers do not visit prisoners and instead, they usually only meet their clients in court, where the prisoner’s attendance is mandatory.

Meetings between persons sentenced to death and their lawyer take place in a cell, or in exceptional cases, in the prison superintendence office, in the presence of a guard, which results in a “complete absence of privacy”.

Prior to execution, prisoners sentenced to death may request a meeting with a lawyer to draft their will.

Women¶

Prison conditions for women are considered to be slightly better compared to those for men. Female prisoners are held in designated prisons or wards in 12 facilities. They are guarded and searched solely by female staff. Legally, female prisoners are subject to less strict security rules: no handcuffs, except for major security incidents, and no shackles under any circumstances. As opposed to male prisoners, female prisoners have beds made of woven webbing or hemp, stretched over a four-legged wooden frame (charpai).

Women are allowed to keep their children with them until the age of three or six, depending on the province they are in. Children live in the “death cells” with their mothers and they are allowed to play in the “block” outside the cell. The children are provided with food, clothes and special items supplied by the administration or bought by the family (toys, gifts, etc.).

Foreign nationals¶

The law states that foreigners must be accompanied by their diplomatic representation. They are subject to the same detention conditions as nationals.

Individuals sentenced to death are housed in designated areas, separated from the rest of the prison population. They are held in “death cells” measuring less than 8m2, grouped in “blocks” of four to five cells. Most of these cells accommodate two people, yet some can confine up to seven or eight due to overcrowding. Prisoners are placed in solitary confinement once their execution date is set.

Accommodation. According to the Prison Rules of 1978, “all cells used for the confinement of condemned prisoners shall be provided with flush, toilet seats and low level water taps. Privacy should be ensured”. Each cell should have an electric fan on the ceiling, although prisoners should not be able to reach it. There should be a small opening at the top of the wall to allow ventilation. Heating is not provided during the cold season.

Prisoners sentenced to death must switch cells every day. The cells are searched once a week or, more often, as a vexatious measure. An officer is constantly outside the cells and a light bulb is always on between sunset and sunrise for surveillance purposes.

All personal clothing of a prisoner sentenced to death is seized upon arrival. The administration provides them with clothing, sandals (chappals), bedding, and aluminium cooking utensils. Straw mattresses are placed on the floor, and each prisoner is provided with two thin blankets made of poor-quality thread fabricated inside the prison (kharashi kambal). They also receive a cotton sheet (dari) to prevent itching caused by the kambal, but pillows are not provided. Relatives often bring prisoners blankets for cold temperatures.

Food. Food is provided by the facility’s kitchen. It is usually undercooked and of poor quality, and prisoners sometimes add spices to improve the flavour. They may buy charcoal to supplement the cooking of their food.
The Prison Rules stipulate that: “All food intended for consumption by a condemned prisoner shall be examined by the Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent or Medical Officer (…) Prisoners under sentence of death shall be permitted to arrange to supplement their food at their own cost. The cost should be paid to the Superintendent who will arrange for the preparation of the food within the prison premises or purchase fruits, etc. for them.”

Activities and work. Persons sentenced to death may leave their cells for one hour a day: half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon. They are only allowed to walk within the “block” where their cell is located and are always handcuffed. Many prisons have a television in the block, but sports facilities are non-existent.
All persons sentenced to death are allowed to study for qualifications, and many prisoners do so. They can also borrow “suitable” books from the prison library. Prisoners can also buy books and newspapers at their own expense, with the approval of the administration.
Prisoners are allowed to smoke in the cells. The Prison Rules of 1978 state that “Prisoners who smoke and are unable to obtain cigarettes at their own cost, may be given five cigarettes daily at Government expense.”

Prisoners sentenced to death do not have access to places of worship within the prison. They are permitted to have religious images and objects (books, prayer mats, rosaries) in their cells, provided by their families. In general, they are not allowed to chaplain visits, but they can ask to meet one before their execution.

All facilities have a fairly consistent policy on allowing prisoners to maintain family ties. Prisoners are allowed to send one letter per week free of charge, and an additional two letters every month at their own expense. All mail sent is screened. Prisoners can receive an unlimited number of letters, and they are entitled to one telephone call once a week, paid for by the administration.

Prisoners can also have weekly visits. Special permission is required for conjugal visits, and while such visits are very rare, they are theoretically permitted for all. Those with death sentences confirmed by the High Court must meet their visitors, lawyers, or family in their cells and communicate through the bars on the door. Visits always take place in the presence of a guard. Although they are required to monitor the visit from a distance, they always stay close, at the detriment of privacy and confidentiality.

Persons sentenced to death cannot be granted leave to attend a funeral. However, the corpse may be transported to the prison for a final viewing by the imprisoned next of kin.

Prisoners’ families are informed of the execution date, and family members are permitted to visit the prisoner the day before the execution, at a time set by the administration.

The execution is carried out by hanging between 4:30 and 6:30 am, depending on the time of year. The body is left hanging for approximately 30 minutes. Afterwards, it is returned to the family. If it is not claimed, the body is buried in the prison cemetery.

All facilities have a doctor on duty. Prisoners must file a request to visit the doctor. Once their request has been approved, they are escorted by an officer to the prison’s health care unit. In an emergency, a nurse may visit a prisoner to assess their state of health.

Many prisoners suffer from common diseases and infections (such as tuberculosis, skin diseases, lice outbreaks, scabies, stomach problems, etc.). Justice Project Pakistan believes that these widespread health problems are primarily due to overcrowding.

Those whose death sentences have been confirmed by the High Court are permanently handcuffed whenever they are outside their cells, including during medical consultations.

Those sentenced to death are subjected to a medical examination before their execution.

• Justice Project Pakistan’s database.

• Justice Project Pakistan, No Mercy, a Report on Clemency for Death Row Prisoners in Pakistan, 2019.

• The Guardian, Pakistan ends death penalty for prisoners with severe mental health problems, 2021.

• Amnesty International, Pakistan : un couple est acquitté et échappe à la peine de mort, 2021. (In French)

• Dawn, PHC sets aside 200 convictions by military courts, 2020.

• Dawn, Death sentence in juvenile case commuted, 2020.

• Reprieve and Foundation for Human Rights, The Pakistan Capital Punishment Study, 2019.

• Human Rights Commission Pakistan, State of human rights in 2018, 2019.

• Prison Insider, Pakistan: 18 years in a death cell despite his innocence, 2020.

• Prison Insider, Pakistan: letters from death row; life after prison, 2019.

• FIDH, Punished for Being Vulnerable, 2019.

• ECPM, The Death Penalty is homophobic!, 2018.

• The Cornell Centre on Death Penalty Worldwide, Judged for more than her crime, 2018.

• Le Monde, Le Pakistan lève complètement son moratoire sur la peine de mort, 2015. (In French)