Man set to be executed for crime he allegedly committed when 14 (Photo)

A Pakistani man is set to be executed for a crime he allegedly committed while he was 14 and which he claims he was tortured into confessing to.Shafqat Hussain was convicted and sentenced to death for kidnapping and involuntary manslaughter in Sindh province in 2004.

His execution has been stayed three times, most recently on May 6, when it was stopped at the eleventh hour after a public outcry, pending an investigation into his age and the torture allegations.

His lawyers argued that he was still a teenager when he was brutally tortured into confessing, including being burned with cigarettes, electrocuted and having his fingernails removed.Mr Hussain has always maintained his innocence and the fact he was under 18 at the time.

Despite concerns about the fairness of the investigation, he is set to be sent to the gallows tomorrow at 4.30am Pakistan time.

his distraught parents plead  for his release

Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific Director David Griffiths said:

 'Shafqat has now spent 11 years in prison after allegedly being tortured into a 'confession', with the threat of death constantly hanging over him.

'President Mamnoon Hussain now has a chance to avoid a travesty of justice by staying Shafqat's execution and granting his mercy petition – he must do so before it is too late.

'The state has failed to prove definitively that Shafqat was over 18 years of age at the time of his alleged crimes. Sentencing a juvenile offender to death, let alone executing him, is a clear violation of both international and Pakistani law.

'Pakistan is fast turning into one of the world's top executioners. While Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, Shafqat Hussain's case points to the many issues in the justice system that makes its use so troubling in Pakistan"

Culled from Dailymail