PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 51/166/2002

7 November 2002

Further information on UA 297/02 (AMR 51/155/2002, 1 October 2002) - Death penalty/legal concern

USA (Virginia)Mir Aimal Kasi (m), Pakistan national, aged 38

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Mir Aimal Kasi's execution, originally scheduled for 7 November, is now due to take place on 14 November.

A final appeal to the US Supreme Court was filed by Mir Aimal Kasi's lawyers on 29 October. Neither the Court's decision on whether to take the appeal, nor the Virginia governor's decision on whether to grant clemency, is expected until 14 November.

Mir Aimal Kasi was convicted in 1997 of the murder Frank Darling in 1993. FBI agents had forcibly abducted him from Pakistan in order to bring him to trial in the USA.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please continue to send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:

- expressing sympathy for the family and friends of Frank Darling and Lansing Bennett, and explaining that you are not seeking to condone the manner of their deaths;

- opposing the execution of Mir Aimal Kasi;

- expressing deep concern at the circumstances of Mir Aimal Kasi's abduction in Pakistan, apparently in violation of the international prohibition on arbitrary detention;

- arguing that his forcible abduction has called into question the integrity of the entire proceedings against Mir Aimal Kasi;

- calling on the governor to commute this death sentence in the interest of the rule of law and the reputation of the USA.

APPEALS TO:

Governor Mark R. Warner

State Capitol, 3rd Floor

Richmond, Virginia 23219, USA

Fax: + 1 804 371 6351

Salutation: Dear Governor

COPIES TO:

Lorne Craner

Assistant Secretary of State

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

2201 C Street, NW, Room 7802

Washington, DC 20520, USA

Fax: + 1 202 647 5283

and to diplomatic representatives of USA accredited to your country.

You may also copy your appeals or write brief letters (not more than 250 words) to: Letters to the Editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Box 85333, Richmond, Virginia 23293, USA. Fax: + 1 804 819 1216. E-mail: letters@timesdispatch.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.

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