ICC Note:
Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) is a human-rights organization in Pakistan that provides free legal counsel to prisoners on death-row in Pakistan. It, along with other human rights groups, have been under attack from the Pakistani government for their efforts to represent Pakistan’s “most vulnerable citizens.” While JPP received good news from a high court that suspended a state government order canceling JPP’s registration, most human rights organization suffer from “hostile state measures” including difficult licensing, certificates, donor restrictions, and persecution. Religious liberty groups are just as vulnerable.
10/06/2017 Pakistan (UCA News) – A Pakistani high court has suspended a state government order to cancel the registration of a prominent human rights group which provides free legal aid to death-row prisoners.
Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a non-profit legal rights organization, was de-registered by the Punjab government which said its activities were outside the scope of its memorandum.
Calling the government’s order unlawful, the JPP filed a petition in the Lahore High Court, saying the orders were passed in violation of its right to due process of natural justice.
On Oct. 3, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah suspended the government’s order till the final disposal of the petition.
Pakistan lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in December 2014 after the Taliban assaulted a military-run school in the north-western region. At least 150 people, mostly students and teachers, were killed in the terrorist attack.
The moratorium on the death penalty for all capital crimes was lifted in March 2015, leading to a dramatic rise in state executions.
According to data released by the JPP, 477 people have been executed in Pakistan since December 2014, with only 16 percent of the cases relating to terrorism.
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