PAKISTAN. DEATH ROW BRITON GETS TWO-MONTH REPRIEVE

23 October 2006 :

it was announced that the execution of Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British man held in Pakistan, will not take place during Prince Charles's visit to the country. Hussain was due to be hanged for murder on November 1; three days after the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were to arrive in Pakistan for a state visit. Instead, prison officials in Pakistan said his execution would be postponed for two months, until December 31.
The move came after Prince Charles reportedly considered cancelling his trip to the country unless the execution was delayed.
A spokesman for the prince said he had written to Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, asking that Hussain's life be spared.
Hussain, originally from Leeds, was cleared by two courts of murdering a cab driver, only to be found guilty by judges operating under Islamic law.
His brother, Amjad Hussain, reacted angrily to news of the postponement.
"For me this would not be a solution. It would be saying it would not be OK to execute him while the Prince is having tea with Musharraf but OK to do it when he left."
He told Sky News: "It's not a question of any more stays, it's a question of release.
 

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