Ex-US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, whose plea to defend under-trial Z. A. Bhutto was denied, dies at 93

New York: Ramsey Clark, a former US Attorney General, who went to Pakistan in 1976 to defend under-trial Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but was prevented by Zial-ul-Haq’s regime from appearing in the Supreme Court, died on Friday at his home in New York City.

His relative Sharon Welch announced the death of Clark, 93, an eminent human rights lawyer who became a champion of civil rights and liberties around the world after serving from 1967 to 1969 as the top law enforcement official in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson.

After Bhutto’s controversial trial and later execution, Clark called the former Pakistani prime minister a “victim of legalized political murder.”

Clark, who became a harsh critic of U.S. policy, denounced American actions, among other countries, in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Libya. He also protested lethal attacks by unmanned American drone aircraft on other nations.

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly awarded Clark its Prize in the Field of Human Rights, which it gives every five years to human rights defenders. The U.N. commended him for speaking out against abuses by the United States in its campaign against terrorism.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was honoured posthumously by the U.N. with the same medal in 2008. Past recipients included Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.