Imdad Ali, a 52-year-old mentally ill prisoner, has spent 17 years on death row without proper treatment. He was sentenced to death in 2002 for fatally shooting a religious teacher.

During the course of his incarceration, he has been repeatedly diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, with several medical reports confirming over the years that he is actively suffering from psychotic symptoms and is “a treatment-resistant case”. 

Imdad has spent the last four years in solitary confinement in the hospital cell of district jail, Vehari, owing to the nature of his mental illness.

BACKGROUND

Imdad comes from an extremely poor family. His relatives first noticed his mental illness in 1998 after he returned from a work trip from Saudi Arabia. According to them, he would be found talking to himself or to objects. After he was convicted of shooting a religious teacher in 2001, Imdad could not afford private medical consultants who could detail his mental illness in court and was eventually sentenced to death.

Imdad’s wife raised his mental condition in the trial court but the prosecution claimed he was able to respond rationally to questions put forward to him. The judge, too, failed to mention Imdad’s mental illness in his conclusion when sentencing him to death.

Despite clear evidence of mental illness, Imdad’s appeals have been repeatedly dismissed by the courts. His mercy petitions have been rejected and his death warrants were issued twice in 2016.

RECENT CASE PROCEEDINGS

Imdad’s case came into the limelight in 2016 when the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal stating that “schizophrenia is a curable disease” and not a mental illness. His third execution warrant, however, was not issued following public outcry, a fresh petition from his lawyers and a review filed by the government of Punjab.

In April 2018, the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of another mentally ill prisoner, Kanizan Bibi, and clubbed Imdad’s case with hers. Ordering fresh medical examinations of both the prisoners, the apex court stated that this case will set a precedent for all mentally ill prisoners on death row.

“Neither reason nor sensibility allow me to believe that we can execute a mentally ill or disabled person,” then Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar remarked during the proceedings, recalling that international legal systems have unequivocally forbidden the execution of mentally ill prisoners.

“IF A PERSON IS MENTALLY ILL, HOW CAN YOU HANG THEM?”

– FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE SAQIB NISAR,

during the hearing of mentally ill death row prisoners Kanizan Bibi and Imdad Ali

IMDAD’S MENTAL ILLNESS

Imdad Ali was first diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia by jail authorities in 2012, even though his medical records from as early as 2009 have consistently shown him to be exhibiting psychiatric problems. Those who know him, including his family and neighbours, state that the symptoms of his mental illness had been present for many years before the incident even took place. Imdad’s jail medical records show that he has continuously been treated for serious mental illness following his diagnosis; he has been regularly visited by a consultant psychiatrist and prescribed strong anti-psychotic medicines.

It is clear from the records that his mental illness has led to not just extreme mental anguish and suffering, but also physical pain, caused in part by his own delusional behaviour and also by the physical abuse and torment he has suffered at the hands of other inmates.