Executions an affront to justice: Amnesty

KABUL (Pajhwok): Amnesty International has called the execution of five men convicted over a gang rape following a series of flawed trials as an affront to justice.

Corpses of the five men, who were executed on Wednesday afternoon in the Pul-i-Charkhi jail, have been released to their families.

They were first sentenced to death on September 7, a sentence later upheld in an appeals court on September 15 and by the Supreme Court on Sept 24, and confirmed by then-President Hamid Karzai.

“There is no question that this was an appalling crime and the outcry and anger this case has caused is of course understandable. But the death penalty is not justice – it only amounts to short-term revenge,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Director.

“The death penalty is an abhorrent form of punishment and should never be used under any circumstances. The many fair trial concerns in this case only make these executions more unjust. It’s deeply disappointing that new President Ashraf Ghani has allowed the executions to go ahead.”

Amnesty International urged the Afghan government to ensure that all rape was prohibited in law, policy and practice and perpetrators were punished.

It urged the government to work towards purging any social stigma which attached to rape victim. “All fault for rape lies solely with the perpetrators and it is them alone who should carry the stigma.”

“This case has highlighted some deep flaws in the Afghan justice system and laws – flaws that the new President Ashraf Ghani himself has vowed to tackle. The trials have been marred by inconsistencies, uninvestigated torture claims and political interference. In charging these men with zina the Afghan authorities have continued a pattern of treating rape in a flawed way,” said David Griffiths.

“President Ghani was placed in an unenviable position by the actions of his predecessor in this case, but regrettably failed his first test on upholding human rights and the rule of law. These deaths cannot be undone now, but President Ghani must order an immediate moratorium on all executions as a first step towards total abolition or the death penalty.”

Background

Wednesday’s executions marked the first in Afghanistan in 2014. Under the administration of former President Karzai (December 2001-September 2014), Amnesty International has reported at least 51 executions. There are currently approximately 300 prisoners on death row in the country.

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