Two weeks left to stop the execution of a Briton in Pakistan

A British citizen will be put to death in two weeks for a murder he was acquitted of - unless Londoners put pressure on the Pakistani government to release him, Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London, said today.

[ClickPress, Wed May 17 2006] A British citizen will be put to death in two weeks for a murder he was acquitted of - unless Londoners put pressure on the Pakistani government to release him, Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London, said today.

Mirza Tahir Hussain is to be hanged at dawn on his 36th birthday (June 1st). He was 18 years old when he sought a taxi from Rawalpindi to Bhubar in Pakistan. A driver who agreed to take Mr Hussain tried to physically and sexually assault him. When the driver took out a pistol, there was a scuffle and he was shot. Mr Hussain drove the vehicle straight to the nearest police station to report the incident.

He was charged and convicted of murder but successive appeals showed there were serious flaws in the evidence presented against the former British territorial army soldier, and his conviction was quashed. But, not content with the verdict, the victim's family pressurised the authorities to try him again - this time in the Sharia court. The court then convicted Mr Hussain of murder despite a lack of forensic or pathological evidence and conflicting eyewitness accounts. One of the judges issued a 60-page 'dissenting opinion' which described Mr Hussain's reconviction as a "miscarriage of justice."

Dr Kamall is urging all London residents to write to the Pakistani High Commissioner in London, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, requesting she intercede.

He said:

"This execution must not be allowed to take place. We need a huge public outcry from London to encourage the Pakistanis to back down.

"The more we look into the facts behind the trial, the more we can see that a huge miscarriage of justice has occurred. Unfortunately, the Pakistani government is quite prepared to execute an innocent man.

"I am doing what I can to prevent this huge travesty but I do not exaggerate my influence as an MEP. The only way this innocent British man will be released is if the public and the press express their outrage to the Pakistani government."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Pakistani High Commissioner in London can be reached at:

Dr Maleeha Lodhi, High Commissioner for Pakistan, Pakistan High Commission, 34-36 Lowndes square, London SW1X 9JN. Fax: 0207 664 9224.

For more information, please contact James Holtum on +32(0) 473 211174.

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