Daily Times

Imdad Ali is a 50-year-old death row inmate who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. On September 20, 2016, he is set to become the 420th person to be executed by the Pakistani state since December 2014. A poor, mentally ill individual, unable to afford proper medical care or competent legal counsel, facing an imminent execution should not even be an aberration in a functioning criminal justice system. However, in Pakistan’s broken order Ali’s case is hardly exceptional.

A recent report submitted to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) by the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) reveals the unfortunate reality that a disproportionately high number of Pakistanis executed ever since the moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in December 2014 belong to the most vulnerable and excluded segments of our society. It is almost as if there are two parallel legal systems operating in Pakistan, one for the rich and influential, and the other for vulnerable populations like the poor, religious minorities, juveniles and the physically and mentally disabled. Those with wealth can easily evade any and all punishments, and only those without wealth seem to get the capital punishment.

A criminal justice system exists to ensure the safety and security for all citizens and for the protection of their rights. However, as the JPP-OMCT submission to the CESCR illuminates, Pakistan’s criminal justice system is rooted in discrimination towards vulnerable segments of society based on inherent socioeconomic biases. According to the JPP, if an individual is from an underprivileged background, he or she is more likely to be sentenced to death in Pakistan. An ill-equipped and poorly trained police force rely upon torture to extract damning confessions, and state appointed counsel are often so negligent and incompetent that they do not raise adequate defences on behalf of their impoverished and uneducated clients.

When the aspect of mental illness is added to the mix, the circumstances become even direr, primarily because of the way mental illnesses are perceived and treated in Pakistan. Diagnosing and treating mental illnesses in patients, particularly prisoners, is virtually a non-existent phenomenon as there is a general lack of understanding about mental health problems within the criminal justice system. Though there is jurisprudence in international law under the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights against convicting and executing mentally ill prisoners, Pakistan repeatedly fails in its obligations in this regard. The burden of proof is squarely on the accused and their families, and as many of them are poor and uneducated, they either fail to understand what constitutes mental illnesses, or simply cannot afford to have a psychiatrist evaluate the accused.

The case of Imdad Ali is particularly instructive in understanding the failure of the criminal justice system to protect the vulnerable segments of society. Ali was convicted for murdering his mentor and spiritual leader in 2001. According to eye witnesses, Ali accused the deceased of plotting against him and standing in the way of his spiritual knowledge immediately prior to the murder; the nature of his rambling rant was consistent with symptoms of delusions of being persecuted, irrational anger and violence that are associated with paranoid schizophrenia. Anyone with a passing familiarity with mental health problems could have instantly concluded that not all was well with Ali. But despite Ali’s wife raising the issue of his mental health in the trial court and subsequent appeals, the judges have dismissed this aspect based on archaic understanding of mental health in judicial precedent: i.e. the fact that he escaped the scene of the crime is seen as proof that he maintained his lucidity.

This is despite that Ali has been treated with anti-psychosis medication in the district Vehari jail since 2004. This is despite a 2012 medical examination conducted on the request of Vehari jail’s superintendent, where the head of psychiatry of the Nishtar Hospital formally diagnosed Ali with paranoid schizophrenia, and commented on his total lack of awareness of his circumstances. This is despite sworn affidavits from multiple neighbours and family members of Ali where they testify on his erratic behaviour and delusionary beliefs over the years. Despite all evidence to the contrary, and even despite the jail authorities being sympathetic to Ali’s case, at every appellate step his plea for mercy on humanitarian grounds has been rejected simply because the legal system has an insufficient conception of mental illness. What is especially horrific about executing a mentally ill person? In theory, the purpose of punishment is only fulfilled if the one being punished can, with complete soundness of mind, comprehend what is happening to him or her, and, more importantly, why. That knowledge of imparting a society’s moral judgment on the accused and sanctioning unsocial behaviour is what is supposed to make harsh punishments morally justifiable. That is the principle governing criminal justice in modern states. The state is the ultimate arbiter not because it doles out personal vengeance or punishes for the sake of punishment, but because it has to secure an ideal of justice and civilty. But how can a just state punish someone who cannot realise the nature of his crime, let alone the gravity of his fate? What moral and philosophical imperative is achieved through this act? It is simply cruel and unjustified.

The issue in Imdad Ali’s case is about the character of the Pakistani state and what the present government stands for. The state has to recognise its duty and obligations to its vulnerable segments and start treating them as human beings of equal value and dignity. Government should not allow for this travesty of justice to take place so brazenly. Moreover, now more than ever, the eyes of the world are on us; the government of Pakistan should pre-empt a colossal embarrassment on an international scale. Starting with Imdad Ali, the government needs to take measures to prevent convictions and executions of the mentally ill.

(The JPP-OMCT report published by the CESCR can be read here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/
CESCR/Shared Documents/PAK/INT_CESCR_ICO_PAK_25170_E.pdf)

The writer is an advocacy and policy officer at the Justice Project Pakistan. He can be reached at daniyal.yousaf@jpp.org.pk