PESHAWAR, July 7: A juvenile offender from Peshawar has been languishing in a death cell at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, as his death sentence has not been converted into life imprisonment as per the president’s orders.
At the time of the trial and the appellate courts had not considered him a minor at the time of the commission of the offence.
The leave to appeal petition of the convict, Muhammad Ameen, was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in March last year and now the revision petition has been pending before the Supreme Court. An advocate of the Supreme Court, Arif Khan, will plead his case before the apex court.
According to the school leaving certificate issued by Government Primary School, Swathi Gate, Ameen was born on June 5, 1981. The same as the birth certificate issued by the Municipal Corporation, Peshawar.
The crime, for which Ameen was charged, had occurred on Feb 7, 1998, in Rawalpindi. It means he was less than 17 years old at the time.
According to the FIR, three robbers had entered a home and when the family resisted they opened fire and killed one person and injured another.
The accused, including Muhammad Ameen, were arrested and were tried by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi. The court sentenced Ameen to death on Jan 21, 2000.
The doctor at the district headquarters hospital Rawalpindi also confirmed that the Ameen was about 18.
Even then the age factor was not taken into account while handing him the capital punishment. His appeal was dismissed by the Lahore High Court on Sept 13, 2001.
Under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, a juvenile offender cannot be sentenced to death. However, as at the time of his conviction the ordinance had no been promulgated, he could not benefit from it.
The president, last year, issued an order whereby the death sentences of juvenile offenders were converted into life imprisonment.
