- Jurists unequivocally oppose use of death penalty as a violation of right to life, freedom
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) – a human rights non-governmental organisation – has said that the government of Pakistan must not bring back military courts to try civilians for terrorism-related offences.
Pakistan passed the 21st amendment to the constitution in January 2015, authorising the military courts to try civilians for terrorism-related offences for a period of two years. The 21st amendment lapsed on January 6, 2017. “The use of the military courts to try civilians is inconsistent with international standards,” the ICJ said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The government has scheduled a meeting with the opposition parties on Thursday (February 23) in an attempt to achieve consensus over a constitutional amendment to restore the military courts. The amendments require a two-third majority vote in both the houses of the parliament to be enacted.
While the ruling party has the requisite majority in the National Assembly, it appears to lack the numbers in the Senate to pass the amendment. The parliament must stand up to the executive in defence of the rights of all people, instead of allowing the administration to bring back – and even expand – a discredited and abusive process, the jurists said.
“Evidence from practice clearly shows that not only have military trials of civilians been blatantly unjust and in violation of the right to a fair trial, they have also been ineffective in reducing the very real threat of terrorism in Pakistan,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia director for the commission. According to reports, the draft amendment, if adopted, would extend the exceptional use of the military courts for another three years.
The ICJ fears that repeated extensions would give the military courts jurisdiction over any offence considered to be an act of terrorism, a broader mandate than 2015 constitutional amendment. “Bringing back the military courts deflects attention from the real issue: the government’s failure to enact necessary reforms to strengthen the criminal justice system,” Zarifi said.
He said that the government must account for its failure to deliver on the promise of delivering justice for the victims of terrorism and other abuses instead of once again extending the exceptional use of the military courts for civilian trials. The military courts have convicted 274 people in the two years since they have been used to try civilian terror suspects.
During this period, 261 people were sentenced to death and 113 people were given prison sentences. At least 12 people hanged till death after receiving death sentences. The ICJ unequivocally opposes the use of the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
The ICJ also documented fair trials violations including denial of the right to counsel of choice; failure to disclose the charges against the accused; denial of a public hearing; failure to give convicts copies of a judgment with evidence and reasons for the verdict; and a very high number of convictions based on confessions without adequate safeguards against torture and ill treatment.