SHAFQAT HUSSAIN Years On Death Row: 11 Status: Executed on August 3, 2015. A Juvenile Tortured Into A Murder Confession Shafqat Hussain was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of another child, who lived in the Karachi apartment building where he worked as a guard and caretaker. In the days that followed, Shafqat underwent nine days of brutal torture to elicit a confession, which proved to be the sole piece of evidence used against him at trial. At the time, he was just fourteen years old. “The police [were] under a lot of pressure from a [member of the National Assembly], so they just wanted to find someone to pin it on. They told me to give them 5 laks [~4,270 Euros] and they'll let me go and find someone else. That's how they let the other [watchman] go. But I had no money to give them.” While in their custody, police subjected Shafqat to electrocution, sleep deprivation, and repeated beatings. In a written request to extend Shafqat's detention, the sub-inspector in Karachi ominously hinted at the further cruelty awaiting the young boy: “Accused is cunning and clever and looks like a professional criminal. We expect more information from him; that is why further interrogation is required.” Shafqat described the harrowing experience that led to his confession: “In the first four days, they just didn't talk to me. The police just kept beating me. They didn't even tell me why I had been picked up. When I would ask, they would simply say, 'You'll find out in good time.’ They always tortured me after 11pm/12am, but there was no fixed time: it could be at 11pm, or 3am – I never knew when they would come. They would usually torture me in 15 to 30 minute stretches, sometimes multiple times in one night depending on how many times the complainant visited. The real torture started after physical remand. They kept detaining people and forcing me to say that they were my accomplices so that they could get a bribe out of them. And I would do it because I had no choice. . . they were torturing me. A “MOST SERIOUS CRIME”: PAKISTAN'S UNLAWFUL USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY 14