Dawn

PAKISTAN - execution of juvenile offender

Murderer hanged at Timergarah

Ali Sher, 21, was hanged for murder at the district prison in Timergarah early on Saturday morning.

The convict, who was only 13 when he killed a minor girl in Swat of the Mingorah district, had availed of all legal options and his review petition had been dismissed by the Supreme Court about a fortnight ago.

 His execution, the 1st-ever execution by hanging in the history of the Lower Dir district, is a great set-back for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which had been pleading his case up to the Supreme Court, and had lately been planning to constitute a jirga for convincing the family of the girl to forgive the boy.

 At around 6.30 am, executioner Sadiq Masih, pulled the board from underneath the convict, causing his death.

 A large number of prisoners had gathered there to witness the execution. A heavy contingent of the district police had already been deployed at the prison.

 Moving scenes were witnessed at the place of the execution, as most of the prisoners felt sympathy with the young boy, who had been abandoned by his own family, including his father.

 Ali Sher hailed from Khwazakhela, Swat, and was arrested in 1993 on the charge of killing a minor girl, stated to be the younger sister of his sister-in-law.

 According to his account, as he was not treated well by his brother and sister-in-law, he became infuriated and killed the girl in revenge.

 He was initially awarded death sentence by the district and sessions judge, Mingorah. The HRCP filed an appeal on his behalf in the Peshawar High Court on the ground that since he was a juvenile and was not mature enough to understand the gravity of the crime, he should not be awarded capital punishment. The appeal, however, was dismissed.

 Later, the HRCP filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and argued that at the time of the occurrence of the crime in 1993, capital punishment had not been extended to provincially-administered tribal areas and thus Sher could not be awarded that punishment. However, the Supreme Court turned down the plea and, finally, rejected his review petition.

 Sher's only hope had been attached to the President of Pakistan, but he had rejected his mercy petition.

 A human rights activist told Dawn that they were surprised why the boy had been hanged in "such a hurry."

 The activist said that had they been communicated about the execution, they would have made a last ditch attempt to convince his brother and sister-in-law to forgive him.