One of my most memorable jail visits in Pakistan is memorable not because of the interaction I had with a prisoner, but with a staff member. While waiting for some documents, I asked if I could see the gallows, which were not in use. Asked to leave all my belongings in the office, I was escorted to the location. For hanging the rope, there is not one hook but 3 in the ceiling, in case more than one person is being executed at the same time. When a lever is pulled from the outside, a door in the floor under the prisoner bangs open – clanging a few times before it stops moving. It’s a sickening sound. Grotesque as it is, I wanted to see what my clients see – even if I can never truly grasp what they go through. I soon regretted making the request, as the staff member informed me that it worries the prisoners when they see this area of the prison being visited.
For decades, Pakistan has been using this barbaric method of execution against all manner of prisoners, some of whom were children at the time of their offence, some of whom were later declared innocent by the courts, and perhaps worst of all, some of whom who are too lost in the grips of mental illness to appreciate what they are even being punished for.
One name on the list for such an execution was Kanizan Bibi, who suffers from schizophrenia and was diagnosed many years into her prison sentence. Kanizan’s mother died when she was only a few months old. Since then, Kanizan was sometimes fed, sometimes not. Her cousin once recounted to me how her own mother had struck little Kanizan with a broom, and began crying as she recalled the blood pouring down the sorry girl’s face.
When, at the age of 12 or 13, she began working as a child labourer for a wealthy family, at the very least she had clothes, shoes and food to eat. Poverty is a terrible thing, and this was enough for Kanizan and her father at the time. In exchange for so little, Kanizan ended up with a death sentence. I have written about Kanizan many times, and so have other gifted writers, lawyers, and journalists. Today, I will spare us all the details of the untrue accusations, the deeply sexist maligning of her character, and the brutal torture that rendered her mute and awaiting her execution date for nearly 30 years.
Our clients suffer grave violations of their humanity and dignity, and the ad-hoc kindness of some enlightened jail officials and judges cannot outweigh the power of a system that is stacked against them. The decision in the Safia Bano case is that light we all hope to see
Today, I want to talk about the verdict which set Kanizan free. While there is no way to make up for the horrendous life this woman lived for 30 years, Kanizan’s judgment is what will protect all persons with severe mental illness from the hangman’s noose in the future. It has been over one year since the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared that persons with severe mental illness cannot be given the death penalty. On that day, 2 of our clients, Imdad Ali and Kanizan Bibi were saved from the hangman’s noose which had dangled above each of their heads for decades. From tiny overcrowded cells with no plumbing or furniture, they were eventually transferred to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH), where they can gain treatment for their illnesses, and most of all, live their lives with dignity.
For lawyers working with death row prisoners, there is not much light at the end of the tunnels that we traverse. Our clients suffer grave violations of their humanity and dignity, and the ad-hoc kindness of some enlightened jail officials and judges cannot outweigh the power of a system that is stacked against them. The decision in the Safia Bano case is that light we all hope to see.
The detailed verdict issued several directions to both the federal and provincial governments.
This includes the building of Forensic Mental Health Facilities for training of professionals and for the rehabilitation of both undertrial and convicted prisoners who are dealing with psychosocial disabilities in prisons. Moreover, the government was directed to ‘immediately’ launch training programmes on forensic mental health for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers as well as prison and police personnel. The government was also directed to create medical boards, composed of qualified persons, to assess all prisoners who may be suffering from a mental illness, and to ensure that no prisoner who cannot appreciate the rationale behind their sentence is executed.
A year on from the judgment, I am hopeful that the government will coordinate with mental health experts, civil society and the legal community to comply with the requirements laid down by the Supreme Court. Pakistan owes a duty to its citizens with psychosocial disabilities. It is time for our government to honour the same by bringing the ‘Safia Bano’ verdict into implementation.
