Pakistan: Supreme Court overturns death penalty for three mentally ill

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Supreme Court in Islamabad

Photo: Waseem Khan / AP

Pakistan's Supreme Court has overturned the death penalty for three mentally ill people in a landmark ruling.

If those sentenced to death should not be able to understand the meaning of their punishment due to a mental illness, the death penalty would not do justice to the purpose, the judges said in the judgment.

The court also ordered the government and provinces to make changes to the law.

The judges ruled that any exceptions to the death penalty must be confirmed by a doctor.

A Pakistani human rights organization represented the three death row inmates in court.

"We are excited about this groundbreaking verdict, which will hopefully set a precedent for all courts in the sentencing of mentally ill prisoners," said a spokesman for the Justice project.

In 2016, the Supreme Court decided otherwise, dismissed a lawsuit and thus sparked controversy in the South Asian country.

In Pakistan, 27 different offenses can result in a death sentence, including rape, blasphemy or sex outside of marriage.

The death penalty was suspended from 2008 to 2014, and the moratorium was declared ended in March 2015.

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ala / dpa