International
Pakistani court sets execution date for mentally ill ex-cop
Authorities in Pakistan have set an execution date for Khizar Hayat, a 55-year-old former police officer, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for shooting a fellow colleague.
The death warrant for Hayat described as a schizophrenic man was issued after Lahore prison authorities pressed for the death warrant, which was granted by a court session, and the execution has been set for January 17.
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However, the decision to execute Hayat is being criticised by the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), which is managing his case, especially after the United Nations previously called on Pakistan to protect mentally ill inmates, singling out Hayat as having “psychosocial disabilities”.
“We are taken aback by the court’s decision to execute Hayat, while the case of Imdad Ali, who is also mentally ill and on death row, is still pending before the court,” Rimmel Mohydin, spokeswoman for the JPP, told Al Jazeera.
“After our application against the court judgment, we are calling for a hearing again tomorrow [Thursday], so we are still hopeful.”
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