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Such an extreme act of pure evil can only be met by the most extreme of responses - and that can only be death. All my life I've been against the death penalty. I genuinely never thought I'd say this, but I am now convinced that the monster who executed this young woman in cold blood should, in turn, be killed as punishment for his crime. - John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
On this date, February 24, 2022, a Pakistani American, Zahir Jaffer was sentenced to death for the sadistic murder of Noor Mukadam on July 20, 2021. The killer reminds of me of Joseph Fidel Alliniece and Thai Murderer, Ronnakorn Romruen, all of them were abusive towards woman.
Zahir Jaffer, the prime accused in the Noor Mukadam murder case, has been convicted and sentenced to death.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.desiblitz.com/content/zahir-jaffer-given-death-penalty-for-murdering-noor-mukadam] |
Noor Mukadam(Urdu: نور مقدم; 23 October 1993 – 20 July 2021) was a Pakistanivictim of murder. She was 27 years old and the daughter of a former diplomat, Shaukat Mukadam. She was murdered at a house in an upscale neighborhood, Sector F-7/4, of Islamabad, on 20 July 2021. Noor was held hostage for two days, tortured with a knuckleduster, then decapitated with a knife. Noor was raped before being murdered.
The murder suspect was identified as 27-year-old Zahir Jaffer who was arrested at the scene of the crime and taken to the police station. The parents and household staff of Jaffer were arrested for hiding evidence and complicity, because Noor made multiple escape attempts but the household staff refused to permit her to leave. The murder was premeditated as Jaffer later confessed to police that he intended to kill Noor if she refused to accept his marriage proposal.
Zahir Jaffer was sentenced to death for the murder of Noor Mukadam by Islamabad session court in February 2022, while Jaffer's guards Iftikhar and Mohammad Jan were given ten years of imprisonment.
Read more here to know more about the case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Noor_Mukadam
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You killed a person and you are put in prison for life? The one you killed is not in jail but he is dead." - Yoweri Museveni |
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Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer, convicted to murder his girlfriend, Noor Mukadam, arrives in a court before the case verdict in Islamabad on Thursday. (AFP) |
Pakistani-American man handed death sentence for beheading ex-diplomat’s daughter
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court sentenced to death the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families on Thursday for raping and beheading a 27-year-old woman, bringing to a close a saga that has gripped the South Asian nation.
Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer, 30, attacked Noor Mukadam at his Islamabad home in July last year. The murder sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women in Pakistan.
In a courtroom packed with journalists, lawyers and private citizens, and guarded by dozens of policemen, Jaffer, a childhood friend of the victim, was also sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for rape, 10 years in jail for abduction, and given a one-year jail term for keeping Mukadam in illegal confinement.
Jaffer had raped Mudakam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, and tortured her with a knuckle duster before beheading her.
He was arrested at his home on the day of the murder and indicted last October.
Others charged in the case included Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, three members of their household staff, named as Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, and six employees of Therapy Works, a counseling center from where Jaffer had received certification as a therapist, and where he had been receiving treatment in the weeks leading up to the murder.
On Thursday, the judge handed down the death sentence for Jaffer and 10 years in jail for both Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad. All others were acquitted.
“He (Zahir Jaffer) will be hanged by his neck till he is dead,” the judge wrote in a short order.
Mukadam’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, hailed the court’s verdict and thanked the media for keeping the case alive.
“He (Jaffer) is given the death sentence and we are satisfied with that,” Shaukat told Arab News shortly after the verdict was announced. “It was a very hard and painful, long and painful process.”
He added that he would consult his lawyers on how to legally pursue Jaffer’s parents and others acquitted of charges.
The trial was one of the most closely-watched in recent Pakistani history.
Hundreds of women are killed in Pakistan every year, with thousands more suffering brutal violence across the country. But few cases receive sustained media attention, and only a small fraction of perpetrators are ever punished.
The shocking murder, involving members of the privileged elite of Pakistani society, triggered an explosive reaction from women’s rights activists reckoning with pervasive violence. It also increased pressure for a swift conclusion of the trial, in a country known to have a sluggish justice system, where cases typically drag on for years.
Advocate Shah Khawar, who pleaded Mukadam’s case in court, said “maximum punishment” had been awarded to the key suspect, adding: “We are very much satisfied with this decision.
“What we believe is that today justice (has been awarded) to the soul of Noor Mukadam. Her parents and relatives and every member of the society who was following this case, they are satisfied that justice has been done.”
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=279400837609246&id=101692122046786
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2031226/world
Noor Mukadam was murdered last July in Pakistan
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0224/1282728-pakistan-noor-mukadam-verdict/] |
Shaukat, the victim’s father, said his family had still not decided whether they would appeal the acquittals awarded to several suspects.
“I expected that I would get justice, and praise be to Allah we have gotten justice and the main culprit has been sentenced to death,” Shaukat said. “As for the rest of the culprits we will see what happens [in terms of appeals].”
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Brutal facts have immense power; they etched deep marks in my psyche. Those who commit such atrocities, I concluded, forfeit their own right to live. We tarnish their memory of the dead and heed needless misery on their surviving families by letting the perpetrators live. – Alex Kozinski
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/5k4wzxw7msdt/1195/brutal-facts-have-immense-power-they-etched-deep-marks-in] |
Death penalty for jilted lover in rape and beheading case
World | AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE 25 Feb 2022
A Pakistan court sentenced the scion of a wealthy industrialist's family to death yesterday for raping and beheading his girlfriend - a murder that sparked an outcry over the brutalizing of women in the patriarchal nation.
Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer, 30, attacked Noor Mukadam at his Islamabad home in July last year after she refused his marriage proposal. He then tortured her with a knuckleduster and used a "sharp-edged weapon" to behead her.
Mukadam, the 27-year-old daughter of a former ambassador, had made repeated attempts to escape the mansion but was blocked by two staff members.
"The main accused has been awarded the death sentence," Judge Atta Rabbani announced at Islamabad District Court.
Jaffer's parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, were found not guilty of attempting to cover up the crime.
The two staff members were sentenced to 10 years in prison for abetting murder.
"I'm happy justice has been served," said Shuakat Mukadam, Noor's father, while vowing to challenge the acquittal of Jaffer's parents.
The case prompted some relief for rights campaigners battling violence against women.
According to the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, a group providing assistance to women, the conviction rate for cases of violence against females is lower than 3 percent.
And victims of sexual and domestic abuse are often too afraid to speak out.
The shocking nature of the murder, involving a couple from privileged elite, also led to pressure for the trial to conclude swiftly in a country where the justice system is notoriously sluggish.
Jaffer was thrown out of court several times during the trial for his behavior.
He was also frequently carried into proceedings by stretcher or wheelchair, and his lawyers argued he should be found not "mentally sound" - a maneuver prosecutors said was designed to suspend the trial.
At one hearing he claimed someone else had killed Mukadam during a "drug party" at his home.
When questioning Mukadam's father, a former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan, Jaffer's lawyer implied she was killed by her own family for a relationship outside of marriage.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/6/239270/Death-penalty-for-jilted-lover-in-rape-and-beheading-case
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=413775867219253&id=100057605302283
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If the criminal taking of a human life does not merit forfeiture of one's own life, then what value have we placed on the life taken? - Pat Buchanan
Father demands death penalty for suspect in Noor murder
By
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The father of Noor Mukadam Saturday demanded capital punishment for Zahir Zakir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the high-profile murder of the Islamabad-based young woman, as he recorded his statement in a district and sessions court in Islamabad.
Noor, 27, was found murdered at the residence of Jaffer in Sector F-7/4 of Islamabad in July. Zakir, widely believed to be the killer, was arrested the same day for his purported involvement in the gruesome incident.
A first information report registered on the complaint of Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the victim’s father, nominated Jaffer under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Jaffer’s parents — Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee — three domestic staff and six workers of Therapy Works — an Islamabad-based organisation providing mental health services that employed Jaffer and Adamjee — were arrested days later on charges of abetting the murder.
Months later, in October, the sessions court indicted Jaffer along with 11 other suspects — his parents, the household staff, Therapy Works boss Tahir Zahoor and his staff — in the case.
The trial formally commenced on October 20.
In his statement recorded before Additional District and Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani, Mukadam, a former ambassador, said he did not have a “personal enmity” with anyone.
But since “my daughter was unjustly killed”, her killer “Zahir Jaffer should be handed a death sentence,” he demanded.
Recounting the events on July 19, the day his daughter was murdered, Mukadam said he and his wife had left for some chores and when he returned to his house, Noor was not there.
Noor had still not returned when her mother came back which worried the two and prompted them to call their daughter but her mobile was switched off.
It was at this point, Shaukat said he started searching for her and when Noor finally picked up her phone, she told him she was going to Lahore with her friends for a few days and asked him to not worry.
In the afternoon on July 20, Jaffer called Mukadam on two numbers and told him Noor was not with him.
But later in the day, at 10:00 pm, he received a call from Kohsar police station, informing him that his daughter had been killed and asking him to visit the police station.
Mukadam said on reaching the police station, he was taken to a house that belonged to the suspect’s family. When Mukadam went inside, he saw that Noor “was brutally murdered and decapitated”.
The retired diplomat then recalled that on July 23, he was called for an investigation and recovery of Noor’s mobile and added that when he visited the police station the following day during Jaffer’s interrogation, the accused revealed he had called Noor over on July 18 and confiscated her mobile prior to killing her.
Upon visiting Zahir’s residence, the phone was found in a closet, Shaukat said.
Meanwhile, the court was informed that Jaffer’s lawyer had contracted Covid-19. At this, the court adjourned the hearing until January 17.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=386870533243120&id=100057605302283
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/01/15/father-demands-death-penalty-for-suspect-in-noor-murder/
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"In criminal law legislation, our priority is the security and well being of law-abiding citizens rather than the rights of the criminal to be protected from incriminating evidence."– Lee Kuan Yew
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208686221008588&set=a.1206445396945.2031621.1102965071&type=3&theater] |
Noor Mukadam's father testifies in court, demands capital punishment for Zahir Jaffer
Tahir Naseer Published January 15, 2022
Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the father of slain Noor Mukadam, recorded in an Islamabad court on Saturday his statement in the murder case of his daughter and demanded capital punishment for Zahir Jaffer — the primary accused.
Noor, 27, was found murdered at a residence in the capital's upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. A first information report was registered the same day against Zahir — who was arrested from the site of the murder — under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of the victim's father.
A trial court on October 14 had indicted Zahir along with 11 others — his parents, their three household staff including Iftikhar (watchman), Jan Muhammad (gardener) and Jameel (cook), Therapyworks CEO Tahir Zahoor and employees Amjad, Dilip Kumar, Abdul Haq, Wamiq and Samar Abbas — in the case. The murder trial formally began on Oct 20.
Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani presided over the hearing today during which Shaukat said that he did not have a "personal enmity" with anyone, adding that "my daughter was unjustly killed".
"Zahir Jaffer should be given a death sentence," he said.
At the hearing's outset, Shaukat requested the judge to overlook any lapses in protocol since it was his first time appearing in a courtroom. He proceeded to recount the day's events when Noor was murdered, saying he and his wife had left for some chores on July 19 and when he returned back to their house, Noor was not there.
The court was told in the testimony that Noor had still not returned when Shaukat's wife came back, which worried the two and prompted them to call her but Noor's mobile was turned off. Shaukat said it was then that he started searching for her and when Noor finally picked up her phone, she said she was going to Lahore with her friends for a few days and told her parents to not worry.
"[On] July 20 — I know Zahir's family — Zahir called me on two numbers in the afternoon and said Noor was not with him," he said, adding that later in the day at 10pm he got a call from Kohsar police station informing him that his daughter had been killed and asking him to visit the police station.
Shaukat said he reached the police station and was taken to a house that belonged to Zahir, adding that when he went inside he saw that Noor "was brutally murdered and decapitated".
He said he identified Noor's body and gave his signed statement to Assistant Sub-Inspector Zubair Mazhar and later signed off on a report on the cause of death. Shaukat added he had handed over Noor's body for a postmortem on July 21.
He recalled that on July 23 he was called for an investigation and recovery of Noor's mobile and added that when he visited Kohsar police station the next day during Zahir's interrogation, the accused revealed that he had called Noor over on July 18 and confiscated her mobile prior to killing her. Upon visiting Zahir's residence, the phone was found in a closet, Shaukat said.
Basharatullah Khan, the counsel for Zahir's father and co-accused Zakir Jaffer, then conducted his cross-examination of Shaukat's account.
He asked Shaukat to confirm if it was usual for Noor to leave their house without informing them. He also questioned Shaukat about the placed he had searched Noor at and whether he had provided the names of her friends in the investigation.
"No I did not name any friend and I did not search [for Noor] after the phone call came," Shaukat replied.
Therapyworks owner Tahir Zahoor's lawyer Akram Qureshi conducted his cross-examination during which Shaukat mentioned a number of details that he had not mentioned before, including the contact numbers of Noor's friends and the timing of her call and the timing of Zahir's call.
"You misrepresented in court that she (Noor) called you," Qureshi said as Shaukat denied doing so.
Shaukat said he did not remember the name of the police officer who had called him. "I received such [horrifying] news that I don't remember the name," he said. He added that he did not remember the name of the officer he met at the police station and left without registering a case.
Shaukat said he had seen the CCTV footage on the night of July 20 and in the morning on July 21. He said he did not know any of the other accused apart from the Jaffer family and had not had their identification parade carried out.
Meanwhile, a junior lawyer for Sikandar Zulqarnain, Zahir's lawyer, presented a medical report in court. "Sikandar Zulqarnain is afflicted by Covid-19," he said.
Meanwhile, the court was informed that Zahir's lawyer was afflicted with Covid-19.
At this, the judge adjourned the hearing till January 17 after no objection from other lawyers following a short discussion on how a hearing with a Covid-positive lawyer would be possible.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=386870863243087&id=100057605302283
https://www.dawn.com/news/1669584
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Noor Mukadam's brutal murder by the scion of an industrialist's family sparked outrage. AFP, AP
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/6/239270/Death-penalty-for-jilted-lover-in-rape-and-beheading-case] |
RELATED LINKS:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/pakistan-mukadam-killer-sentenced-to-death