KARACHI, Aug 13 (AFP) - A Pakistani court Friday found a paramilitary soldier guilty of murder and sentenced him to death for killing an unarmed man at point blank range in an incident caught on camera in a public park.
Lawyers said it marked the first time that a civilian court in Pakistan has sentenced to death a serving member of the military.
Although the Rangers paramilitary technically comes under the supervision of the interior ministry, it is considered part of the powerful armed forces, which has ruled the country for more than half its existence.
The June 8 killing of Sarfaraz Shah, 22, was filmed by a cameraman and broadcast on television, sparking a backlash over the brutality of trained officers in a country awash with violence blamed on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso read out the verdict before an anti-terrorism court in Karachi, finding 35-year-old Shahid Zafar guilty of pulling the trigger, and sentenced him to death and a fine of 200,000 rupees ($2,300).
“The crime of killing Sarfraz Shah has been proved against you and I announce the death sentence and also impose a fine of 200,000 rupees,” said Khoso, addressing Zafar.
He handed life terms to five other paramilitary soldiers and a civilian who had accused Shah of robbery and dragged him over to them. The judge ordered each to pay 100,000 rupees to the victim's family.
The verdict concludes a swift trial after the seven defendants were charged with murder and terrorism on June 29, just weeks after the killing.
There was a euphoric reaction from the prosecution and the victim's family, but the defence vowed to appeal the sentences.
“The decision is historic, it shows no one is above the law,” government prosecutor Mohammed Khan Buriro told reporters. “The Rangers as an institution was not involved in the murder, and it proved in the court proceedings it was the culprits' own act,” he said.
“My family is extremely relieved with the verdict. We have got justice,” said Salik Shah, brother of the victim.
So extreme was the public and media outrage to the killing that the government also took the rare step of removing the provincial chiefs of police and Rangers in Karachi.
The widely-aired footage of the killing showed a clean-shaven and unarmed Shah, wearing black trousers and a navy shirt, pleading for his life before he is shot twice.
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