Prince Charles must pursue Hussain's case in Pakistan

10.48.21am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 19th Oct 2006

Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, a patron of Fair Trials Abroad and Liberal Democrat European justice spokeswoman, is calling on Prince Charles to pursue vigorously during his forthcoming visit to Pakistan the issue of Mirza Tahir Hussain, the British man condemned to death under sharia law.

Fair Trials Abroad is among the coalition of bodies fighting for his reprieve.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are due to visit Pakistan from 29th October to 3rd November. Three days after their arrival, Mirza Tahir Hussain, a 36 year old man from Leeds but with dual British-Pakistani nationality, is due to be executed on 1st November for the murder of a taxi driver in 1998. Hussain, who has always claimed he was acting in self-defence and was cleared of the crime in the normal criminal courts in Pakistan, has been on death row for 18 years.

Baroness Ludford commented:

"It is encouraging to hear that Prince Charles has already written to President Musharraf about this case. But he must press hard during his actual visit to Pakistan for the President to use his powers under the Pakistan constitution to pardon Mr Hussain or at least commute the death sentence."

"He needs to convey strongly to President Musharraf the huge damage to Pakistan's reputation of such a gross miscarriage of justice, as well as the likely repercussions in terms of the country's relationship with Europe."

"This is a fit topic for the Prince of Wales to make a high profile aspect of his visit. It is literally a matter of life or death and I hope the Prince will continue to insist on the importance of a man's life. He must risk upsetting his host about this."