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PAKISTAN: A young Christian man has been tortured to death by Karachi police and jail officials for not paying bribes in time for Eid

January 8, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION -URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-001-2010



8 January 2009
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PAKISTAN: A young Christian man has been tortured to death by Karachi police and jail officials for not paying bribes in time for Eid

ISSUES: Torture; extrajudicial execution; illegal arrest; corruption; threats
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture and extrajudicial murder of a young man in Pakistan. The man was reportedly beaten and abused in a number of police stations and Karachi central prison for not paying bribes in the lead up to Eid, and was beaten unconscious in front of his mother. The medico-legal department of the civil hospital in Karachi has confirmed that the man's death was caused by the injuries he received during the custodial period,and the police have the number of the mobile phone used to solicit the bribes, however no action has yet been taken by the Sindh provincial government. The young man belonged to the minority Christian community and was arrested shortly before Eid, a period in which crimes and bribe requests by police significantly increase. The case demonstrates the pressing need to combat corruption in order to make any headway on human rights protection in the country.

CASE DETAILS:

The following information is according to the victim’s lawyer and family, local media sources and the NGO, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. On 22 November 2009 a 31-year-old electrician, Mr. Abid Javed Francis was arrested without charge as he walked to a job, by Station House Officer (SHO) Khatak and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Abdul Aziz of Ferozabad police station. He was beaten in public during the arrest.

Francis was held at Ferozabad police station and allegedly tortured for two days while requests for Rs10,000 (US$ 125) in bribes were made from his family. The family resides in a slum settlement and the victim’s mother was unable to raise the money. According to our information this led the police to blackmail the victim by filing a false case of harbouring illegal arms. This was logged through first investigation report (FIR) number 1273/2009 under section 13/D at 00:40 on November 24, two days after his initial arrest. The method and duration of Francis' arrest and detention and the use of torture are all illegal in Pakistan.

With no bribe money produced, a second case concerning the theft of a motorbike was filed by ASI Aziz under FIR 1274/2009, section 411, approximately ten minutes after the first FIR was filed. During the remainder of the night further torture is alleged to have taken place. On the morning of 24 November the victim was produced before the magistrate at city court Karachi, where police were granted two days of physical (police) remand regarding the recovery of the motorbike. His face was visibly injured and swollen.

The victim was handed over to Aziz Bhati Park police station where he was asked to pay further bribes (to prevent his being moved to Anti Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) police station). Here he was charged in FIR 673/2009, under section 381 A, concerning a case of theft. According to our information the victim was then moved to the ACLC at Shrifabad Police station in Liaquatabad town where it is alleged that further torture took place over two days. On 25 November ASI Nizam Kolachi and ASI Fayyaz of ACLC reportedly increased the bribe, requesting Rs50,000 (US$ 625) from the victim’s mother, Ms. Venice (known also as Zeenat). In order to further pressurise the family into raising the money, it is alleged that ASI Fayyaz beat the victim around the head in front of her and the victim's mother-in-law, and continued to strike the victim’s head against a wall until he fell unconscious.

On 26 November Francis was produced in magistrate's court and handed over to Karachi central prison. We are told that the victim was visibly injured, bearing torture marks on his face and hands, yet no inquiry was made by the magistrate as he is obligated to do by law and according to the constitution. Francis was placed under judicial remand.

During the Eid holidays (a Muslim religious festival), Ms Venice reports that she was not allowed to see her son for three days, and that on 3 December she was charged Rs2,000 by prison staff to do so. Her account states that the victim’s face was swollen and his left eye was damaged. She alleges that more money (Rs10,000) was requested by 5 December for moving the victim to a hospital, and that prison staff told her that a share of that money would go to the superintendent of Karachi prison. We are told that she managed to produce half the demanded amount by December 7 but was informed that by then her son was too ill to be seen.

After protesting strongly Ms. Venice was finally taken to see him, and reports finding him lying on a stretcher in his underwear in an outside area, despite the cold December weather; he was on a glucose drip, unable to open his eyes. Due to her protests he was moved to the civil hospital in Karachi. Doctors took a CT scan of the victim’s head and moved him to the neurology ward, where he was pronounced dead on 10 December.

A post mortem recorded five counts of severe injury to the victim’s head and the upper half of his body, and that the cause of death was a hematoma on the left side of the head. It reveals that the injuries were inflicted within the prior two to three weeks (during which he was custody). It has been reported that police officials of the ACLC were using mobile phone number: 92 300 2736196 to demand bribes during the Eid holidays (while they were away from office phones).

Mr. Sohail Bhatti, the lawyer of the victim’s family, has filed a petition before the session and district judge in District East Karachi, demanding the prosecution of eight police officials from the three police stations and two officials of Karachi central prison, for murder. The lawyer's petition observes that bribe taking is endemic in police and law enforcement agencies, and police frequently resort to torture for that reason.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

It is not uncommon in Pakistan for detainees to experience physical or mental torture in police custody. (See recent cases: UAC-051-2009, UAC-120-2009 and UAC-172-2009) By compiling records from local human rights organisations, the AHRC has estimated that more than 1,300 people report being tortured in Pakistan each year, yet this is a small percentage of the actual number; hundreds of victims do not or cannot report cases due to a lack of victim and witness protection, organised intimidation and social taboos. Although article 14.2 of the constitution states 'no person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence', it has not been specifically criminalised in the penal code, allowing most perpetrators to go unpunished. Please see more about torture legislation in Pakistan on our anti-torture campaign website: notorture.ahrchk.net

Torture is also institutionally common in the military. As reported by the AHRC (STM-158-2008, STM-012-2009) in 2008 there were at least 52 military-run torture cells throughout the country, under the supervision of the army. Various testimonies about these centres have since been given in court by people who emerged after being disappeared for months. Since the army justifies such measures under terms of national security, the police and other law enforcers have started to consider torture procedurally justified for attaining confessional statements. This allows false cases to be filed at will for the profit of police. Disturbingly, many cases have also indicated that lower court judges rarely question such charges despite evidence of torture, whether out of fear or for financial gain. The AHRC strongly believes that a strong stand against corruption is a basic step to rebuilding a weak rule of law and protecting human rights.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to, email or call the authorities listed below urging an immediate, impartial inquiry into the custodial murder of Mr. Abid Javed Francis. Please also ask them to provide protection and compensation to the family of the victim.

The AHRC has written a separate letter to UN special rapporteurs on torture, extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary Executions and on the independence of judges and lawyers, as well as the chairperson of the UN working group on arbitrary detention, calling for their intervention into this case.
To support this appeal please click here:

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: A young Christian man has been tortured to death by Karachi police and jail officials for not paying bribes in time for Eid

Name of victim: Mr. Abid Javed Francis, 31, son of Javed Francis,
House number F-15, Gali number 1, Ayube Goth, Mubina Town police station,
Scheme 33, Karachi, Sindh province.

Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Khatak, station house officer (SHO), Ferozabad police station, Karachi.
2. Mr. Abdul Aziz, assistant sub inspector of police, Ferozabad police station, Karachi.
3. Mr. Shahid Hussain, constable, Ferozabad police station, Karachi.
4. Mr. Abdullah, constable, Ferozabad police station, Karachi.
5. Mr. Ashique, head constable, Ferozabad police station, Karachi.
6. Mr. Mohammad Alam, investigating officer, Anti Car Lifting Center, Sharifabad police station, Liaquatabad, Karachi.
7. Mr. Nizam Kolachi, assistant sub inspector of police, Anti Car Lifting Center, Sharifabad police station, Liaquatabad, Karachi.
8. Mr. Mohammad Fayyaz, assistant sub inspector, Anti Car Lifting Center, Sharifabad police station, Liaquatabad, Karachi.
9. Station head officer (SHO), Aziz Bhatti police station, Karachi.
10. Doctors of the jail hospital, Karachi central prison, Karachi.
11. The superintendent of Karachi of Karachi central prison, Karachi.

Place of incident: Ferozabad police station, Anti Car Lifting Center of the Sharifabad police station, Aziz Bhatti police station and Karachi central prison, all in Karachi, Pakistan.
Date of incident: 22 November, 2009

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the death of a young Christian man by police torture in Karachi city, after his family was unable to pay the various bribes demanded at the three police stations named above. The young man belonged to the minority Christian community and was arrested shortly before Eid, a period in which crimes and bribe requests by police significantly increase. There is clearly a great need for corruption to be addressed for any headway to be made in the prevention of torture, cases of which continue to come from the city's prisons and jails.

I am informed that Mr. Abid Javed Francis was arrested without charge as he walked to a job, by Station House Officer (SHO) Khatak and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Abdul Aziz of Ferozabad police station. He was beaten in public during the arrest and held at Ferozabad police station where he was allegedly tortured for two days while requests for Rs10,000 (US$125) in bribes were made from his family.

According to the information this led the police to blackmail the victim by filing a false case of harbouring illegal arms (FIR 273/2009 under section 13/D at 00:40 on 24 November) two days after his initial arrest. As you must be aware, the method and duration of Francis' arrest and detention and the use of torture are all illegal under Pakistan law.

With no bribe money produced, a second case concerning the theft of a motorbike was filed by ASI Aziz (FIR 1274/2009, section 411) approximately ten minutes after the first FIR was filed. During the remainder of the night further torture is alleged to have taken place before the victim was produced before the magistrate at city court Karachi, and police were granted two days of physical remand.

The victim was handed over to Aziz Bhati Park police station where he was asked to pay further bribes and charged with theft again (FIR 673/2009, under section 381 A). According to my information the victim was then moved to the ACLC at Shrifabad Police station in Liaquatabad town where it is alleged that further torture took place over two days, some of it in front of his mother and mother in law, conducted by ASI Fayyaz. ASI Nizam Kolachi and ASI Fayyaz of the ACLC reportedly increased the bribe to Rs50,000.

I am shocked to learn that though the victim was visibly injured, he was produced in magistrate's court and handed over to Karachi central prison under judicial remand without any queries into his torture, on 26 November.

After repeated difficulties in accessing her son over the Eid period, and more requests for bribe money (including Rs 2,000 from prison staff to visit him, and a further Rs10,000 requested on 5 December to send the wounded man to hostpital) on 7 December his mother found him stripped to his underwear in the prison, on a stretcher in an outside area, exposed to the elements and hooked to a glucose drip.

At the civil hospital in Karachi a CT scan was taken and the victim moved to the neurology ward, where he was pronounced dead on 10 December. The post mortem records five counts of severe injury to his victim’s head and the upper half of his body, inflicted within the prior two to three weeks. The cause of death was a hematoma on the left side of the head.

I am told that despite the strong evidence, and though Mr. Sohail Bhatti, the lawyer of the victim’s family, has filed a petition before the session and district judge in District East Karachi demanding the prosecution of eight police officials from the three police stations and two officials of Karachi central prison for murder, no investigation has been carried out. I consider this a disgrace to a country that claims to have a rule of law.

An inquiry must be swiftly and credibly initiated, with the police officers named in the petition immediately removed from duty. Should they be found guilty, strong legal sanctions must follow. Police officers who commit crimes cannot be seen to enjoy impunity if such behavior is to be deterred. I have also been informed that the family of the victims are under pressure from the alleged perpetrators to withdraw the case, and feel at risk of harm. I urge that they be provided with protection so that they are able to see the court case through, unimpeded. Please ensure that they are compensated for their ordeal.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1.Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9922 1422, 4768/ 9920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: (please paste the letter at: http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)
muhammad@isb.comsats.net.pk

2. Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

3. Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
Governor of Sindh province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 5043
Tel: +92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

4. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk

5. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

7. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: registrar@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk

8. Ms. Nadia Gabol
Minister for Human Rights
Government of Sindh,
Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9207044
Tel: +92 21 9207043
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com

9. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.d ten persons).

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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-001-2010
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.