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Moscow Regrets Pakistan's Decision to Execute Russian Citizen Akhlaq

© REUTERS / Faisal MahmoodScan of Akhlas Akhlaq's passport.
Scan of Akhlas Akhlaq's passport. - Sputnik International
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Russia regrets Pakistan's refusal to commute the death sentence for a Russian national on humanitarian grounds, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Pakistan plans to execute as many as 500 people who have been convicted of terrorism in the coming weeks - Sputnik International
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Pakistan Set to Execute 500 Convicted Terrorists in Coming Weeks
MOSCOW, December 22 (Sputnik) — Moscow regrets Pakistan's refusal to commute the death sentence for a Russian national on humanitarian grounds, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The Russian embassy in Islamabad on Sunday confirmed that Russian citizen Akhlas Akhlak was hanged along with three other accomplices for attempting to assassinate Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

"It is regrettable that Pakistan has not responded to our numerous appeals to commute Ahlak's death sentence for humanitarian reasons," the ministry said in a statement.

"In addition, we have to emphasize the fact that the Pakistani authorities have not officially notified the Russian Embassy in Islamabad about the decision to carry out the execution," the statement said.

On December 21, Akhlaq was executed in the northern Pakistani city of Faisalabad for attempting to assassinate the country’s former president in 2003. The execution took place four days after the death penalty moratorium in the country was lifted.

On Sunday, the Russian consul told RIA Novosti, citing Akhlaq’s lawyer, that the execution had been delayed until Monday when Akhlaq’s mother was expected to arrive in Pakistan.

Katerina, the mother’s friend, added that the issue of transferring the body to Russia had been postponed until the moment when Akhlaq’s mother arrived in Islamabad and met with the father of the executed Russian national.

According to Katerina, Svetlana was going to travel to Pakistan on Monday evening, after all the visa procedures were completed.

Akhlaq’s father said earlier that he wanted his son to be buried in Russia.

Akhlaq was born in the Soviet Union to a Russian mother and a Pakistani father. In 2003, the man was charged with plotting an assassination on Pakistan's former leader Pervez Musharraf.

Despite having a Russian citizenship, Akhlaq was tried by a military court and sentenced to death in 2005.

However, the execution had not taken place due to the the death penalty moratorium that was introduced in the country in 2008. The moratorium was lifted on December 17 after Taliban militants killed more than 140 people, including 132 children, in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

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