Aftab Bahadur – Executed 10 June 2015

Accused of a murder he did not commit Aftab Bahadur was accused of killing a family. The conviction was based on witnesses who later recanted saying they were tortured into implicating Aftab. He could not afford adequate legal counsel and spent 22 years on death row before being executed. Aftab Bahadur was arrested in 1992 and accused of murdering Anar Kali, her two sons, and injuring her daughter. Aftab was fifteen at the time and training to be a plumber with another boy, Ghulam, as well as attending school. In April 1993, he and Ghulam were convicted of the murders and sentenced to death.

The only eyewitness in the trial was an employee of the family who had been at the house of the murders, stepped out, and returned to see Aftab strangling Anar and Ghulam stabbing her sons. The eyewitness claimed he recognized them as they had previously been at the house making plumbing repairs.

This eyewitness account however, was extracted by police torture, as were statements by Aftab. Torture is frequently used to compel confessions and witnesses testimony. Convictions, however, are heavily reliant on this testimony as forensic evidence collection is basic, misunderstood, open to contamination/ corruption, and often ignored. Aftab has signed an affidavit recanting his statements which were made under duress and only made 5-7 days after the murders.

Ghulam, the co-accused was also tortured and forced to implicate Aftab who he later stated was not there. Ghulam came to a formal compromise with the family and was freed.

Aftab was in prison for 23 years and was a talented artist and painted the entire jail that was home for well over half his life. He was popular with the prison staff though as a Christian (a religious minority in Pakistan) we faced many difficulties in prison including death threats from other prisoners.

As mercy petition was filed in June 2009 with the President of Pakistan and JPP worked with Aftab to facilitate a compromise and reconciliation with the family of the victims but were unable to conclude it before his execution. Aftab was killed on 10 June 2015.

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