Justice Project Pakistan defends man on death row cites mental illness

A rights group says court-appointed doctors have confirmed that a death row prisoner in Pakistan suffers from chronic schizophrenia and requires regular medical treatment.

Justice Project Pakistan, which campaigns against the death penalty, says the findings were submitted to a court in Lahore with the suggestion that Saleem Ahmed is transferred to a mental health treatment facility.

Ahmed, 63, was convicted of fatally shooting his sister during a financial dispute in 2001. He has been on death row since 2004.

A judge delayed his execution in November 2017 following a petition from the Justice Project.

Pakistan is a signatory to international conventions that bar the execution of mentally ill prisoners.