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PAKISTAN: A Norwegian citizen and Baloch activist is missing after his suspected abduction by Pakistan state agents

August 14, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-099-2009



14 August 2009
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PAKISTAN: A Norwegian citizen and Baloch activist is missing after his suspected abduction by Pakistan state agents

ISSUES: Disappearance; torture; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a Norwegian citizen and political activist of Iranian nationality has been forcefully abducted from a bus between Balochistan province and the Sindh province capital, Karachi. Eyewitnesses described his abductors as armed, plain-clothed and in a fleet of four-wheel jeeps bearing no registration number, but the nature of his activism and the manner of his abduction points to state involvement. The Norweigian Embassy in Pakistan has contacted the Foreign Ministry in Pakistan about the case, however the man's whereabouts are unknown and his family worry that if Military Intelligence and the Frontier Constabulary are involved, he will be subjected to torture.

CASE DETAILS:

Ehsan Arjumandi is an Iranian political activist and holds Norwegian citizenship. He was a translator for the Foreign Ministry of Norway police department until recently, but also engaged in social activism with the NGO, Baloch Anjuman Norway, which lobbied for the right to autonomy for the people of Balochistan.

After arriving in Pakistan for the first time in twenty years to see relatives (in Balochistan province, Turbat and Mand) Arjumandi was on an intercity Aslam Dandahi Coach on August 7 to Karachi, when up to twenty vehicles intercepted the bus on the Zero Point Coastal Highway near the Uthal check post, about 12km from Uthal city. According to eyewitnesses, a group of armed men boarded the bus, covered his head with a black blanket and took him away in unmarked jeeps.

In interviews with media, Arjumandi's relatives have noted the similarities of the large organized operation with other abductions known to have been carried out by Military Intelligence agents. They also say that he has heart problems and suffers from asthma and several other ailments. Before his abduction he needed daily medication, and he left his long-term job with the Ministry for health reasons. If he is in detention, his relatives fear that he will not be given the treatment he needs.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

In a joint effort to thwart the movement for autonomy by Balochs in Iran and Pakistan, the two governments have increased their cooperation in recent decades, extraditing a number of Baloch political and human rights activists between them. The Asian Human Rights Commission and the Norway-based Baloch Human Rights Committee (BHRC) are concerned that the activist may have become the latest of these.

Mr Arjumandi was born in Western Balochistan, Iran, but has been living in Norway since 1989, where he has long campaigned for the rights of Baloch people, an oppressed minority in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Arjumandi was one of the protesters who staged agitation concerning military action in Balochistan during General Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Norway. He also participated in a rally when Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz visited Norway, protesting about the continuous disappearances taking place in the province.

It is not uncommon for detained Baloch activists to be held in illegal custody for long periods of time without access to family members or legal assistance. The Netherlands-based Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), quoting the Baloch Peoples Party, claims that 19 Baloch prisoners have been executed since June 2009 when presidential election, after brief trials in closed-door court rooms, during which they had no access to defense lawyers. Iranian news agencies report more than 10 Balochis have been given to Iran by Pakistan in the last twelve months, and that four of them were hanged recently in a prison in Zahedan.

The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the lack of transparency involved in many of these operations and the apparent lack of legal procedure being observed as a result. As a new signatory of the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture, Pakistan has a responsibility to those within its borders. It should not agree to expedite a person to a country in which it believes his or her rights will be violated under international law, including the right to a fair trial.

The AHRC is also extremely concerned at the manner in which Arjumandi is alleged to have been arrested, should he indeed be in the custody of the Pakistan military and notes that this method of arrest is not uncommon in Balochistan. It calls for the protection and activation of the victim's rights to a lawyer, access to his family and necessary medical treatment and protection from torture, in particular.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities in Pakistan to urge the launch of an immediate inquiry into the disappearance of Ehsan Arjumandi, and an operation to retrieve him safely and return him to his home in Norway.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and the question of torture, and the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, requesting their intervention in this case.

To support this appeal please click here:

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

Re: PAKISTAN: A Norwegian citizen and Baloch activist is missing after his suspected abduction by Pakistan state agents

Name of victim: Mr. Ehsan Arjumandi, Iranian resident of Oslo, Norway

Place of incident: Uthal, Balochistan-Pakistan
Date of incident: August 7, 2009

I am writing to register my shock and concern for Norwegian citizen and Iranian national Mr. Ehsan Arjumandi, who was abducted in Pakistan on August 7.

I am told that Arjumandi was on an intercity Aslam Dandahi Coach on August 7 to Karachi, when up to twenty vehicles intercepted the bus on the Zero Point Coastal Highway near the Uthal check post, about 12km from Uthal city. He was in Pakistan for the first time in twenty years to see relatives (in Balochistan province, Turbat and Mand). According to eyewitnesses, a group of armed men boarded the bus, covered his head with a black blanket and took him away in unmarked jeeps.

In interviews with media, Arjumandi's relatives have noted the similarities of the large organized operation with other abductions known to have been carried out by Military Intelligence agents. They also say that he has heart problems and suffers from asthma and several other ailments. Before his abduction he needed daily medication, and he left his long-term job with the Ministry for health reasons. If he is in detention, his relatives fear that he will not be given the treatment he needs.

Mr Arjumandi was born in Western Balochistan, Iran, but has been living in Norway since 1989. In Oslo he has long campaigned for the rights of Baloch people, an oppressed minority people in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I and various NGOs are concerned that Arjumandi may have been extradited to Iran, as has reportedly happened to Baloch activists in the past. Iranian news agencies report more than 10 Balochis have been given to Iran by Pakistan in the last twelve months, and that four of them were hanged recently in a prison in Zahedan.

I am troubled by the lack of transparency involved in these operations and the apparent lack of legal procedure being observed. As a new signatory of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture, Pakistan has a responsibility to those within its borders. It should not agree to expedite a person to a country in which it believes his or her rights will be violated under international law, including the right to a fair trial.

I am also concerned by the manner in which Arjumandi is alleged to have been arrested, should he indeed be in the custody of the Pakistan military and I call for the protection of his rights to a lawyer, to access to family and necessary medical treatment and protection from torture, among others. I am told that such illegal arrests are not uncommon in this region, and this must be seriously addressed.

I demand the launch an immediate inquiry into his disappearance and an operation to retrieve him safely and return him to his home in Norway. Any laws that he may have broken must be dealt with according to civilian law.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1.Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani
Prime Minister
1. Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk


2. Minister for Interior
R Block Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
E-mail: ministry.interior@gmail.com or interior.complaintcell@gmail.com

3. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: Minister for Interior

4. . 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

5. Nawab Aslam Raisani
Chief Minister of Balochistan
Chief Minister House
Quetta
Balochistan province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 920 2240
Tel: +92 81 449582 / 440661
E-mail: mirlashkari@yahoo.com

6. Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi
Governor of Balochistan
Governor House Balochistan,
Quetta
Balochistan province,
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 920 2992

7. Chief Secretary
Government of Balochistan
Quetta
Balochistan province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 9202132

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-099-2009
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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.