May 21, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 22, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, May 20: The President of European Parliament has asked President Gen Pervez Musharraf not to hang a British national Mirza Tahir Hussain who goes to the gallows on June 3 for murdering a taxi driver some 18 years ago.

President of European Parliament Josep Borrel Fontells in his letter to Gen Musharraf said: “Carrying out of this execution will cast a shadow over the reputation of Pakistan as it would clearly represent a rare combination of excessive cruelty and profound unjustice.”

He said that the Pakistani President’s decision to reject Mr Hussain’s plea for clemency had been met with disappointment and consternation by many concerned members of the European Parliament and also by the British authority.

Mr Fontells said that the European Parliament remains committed to the abolition of the death penalty. This particular case serves to remind them all of the profound importance of ensuring the proper respect for basic human rights and the rule of law in a way which avoids “such terrible miscarriages of justice.”

“I therefore ask you, President Musharraf, to reconsider the decision with regard to clemency in this case and to act urgently to save the life of Mr Hussain

Earlier, British foreign secretary Margaret Becket had requested on her own behalf and on behalf of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Gen Musharraf to show mercy to Mr Hussain.

Mr Hussain, a dual national of UK and Pakistan, was sentenced to death by an Islamic court eight years ago after he was found guilty of shooting dead a taxi driver in Rawalpindi in 1988.

Hussain was just 18 and on a family visit to Pakistan in 1988 when his tribulations started with the taxi he hired at Islamabad airport to take him to his hometown near Chakwal. On the way, he claims, the taxi driver and his accomplice, whom he had insisted on taking along for safety, tried to rob him at gunpoint.

Hussain told the trial court that he snatched the gun which accidentally went off during the scuffle and wounded the driver. He said the accomplice having fled the scene, he drove the taxi with the wounded driver to a police station.

Lahore High Court had earlier acquitted Hussain. But after a death sentence was passed by the Federal Shariat Court, the Supreme Court upheld the decision and rejected a petition. President Musharraf also turned down an appeal for mercy from Hussain.