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PAKISTAN: Three men allegedly tortured by the police; one man tortured to death in jail

February 9, 2007

URGENT APPEAL URGENT APPEAL URGENT APPEAL URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION- URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

9 February 2007
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UA-046-2007: PAKISTAN: Three men allegedly tortured by the police; one man tortured to death in jail

PAKISTAN: Torture in custody; bribe; improper police investigation; improper most mortem, impunity
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AHRC 2006 Human Rights Report on Pakistan
http://material.ahrchk.net/hrreport/2006/Pakistan2006.pdf

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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a young man allegedly tortured to death on 3 February 2007, in the Malir central jail in Karachi, Sindh Province, Pakistan. The reason for his torture was allegedly his failure to bribe the jail officers. The victim and his two other friends had been illegally arrested by the Gadap police to extract the money. They were later booked in a false case after failing to pay the money. We were also informed that the day before the victim's death, his family was allegedly threatened by the jail officers, that if they did not pay the bribe, they would receive the dead body of the victim. While the victim's death was announced by the doctors due to kidney failure, the family found numerous torture marks over the victim's body. Shockingly, despite the promise of the Sindh provincial government to suspend the responsible Superintendent of the jail (main suspect), in fact he was awarded with a new position in the Ministry of Interior of Sindh provincial government, and was transferred to another city for his new job. The AHRC calls for your immediate intervention into this matter. Please urge the Pakistan authorities to immediately inquire about this case and take strong action against the alleged perpetrators.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Ali Nawaz, 33 year old, is the son of Mr. Ali Khan. He was a construction worker resided in slum area in Khamisa Goth, Union Council 9, New Karachi town, Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan. He was illegally arrested with his friends Mr. Hidayat Ullah Rind and Mehram Warral, from the Gadap police kiosk at toll plaza, super highway Karachi, Sindh Province at around 8:00pm on 18 January 2007. They were coming back from their work. They received daily wage of Rupees 80 (USD 1.33). It is alleged that the officer in charge of the kiosk, Mr. Bori, who is the head police constable, told the three men to pay him Rs 5,000 (USD 82); otherwise they would be booked in any case. They were then allegedly kept at the kiosk for about six hours and then taken to the Gadap police station, where they were again asked to pay the money, this time Rs 10,000 (USD 165).

As the three men could not pay the requested bribe, the Gadap police allegedly booked them on the false charges of stealing telephone wires. The police also tortured them in the police station. The three men were then sent to the Malir central jail on January 26, where they were again asked to pay Rs. 20,000 (about USD 330) as bribe or they would face exemplary punishment. Mr. Ali Nawaz argued with jail officers, including Superintendent Mr. Shakir Shah, and stated that they were even not having Rs 5,000 to pay the Gadap police, otherwise they would have been released from the police station earlier. One jail police constable then began to brutally assault Mr. Ali Nawaz with his fists and kick him. 

On February 2, Mr. Ali Nawaz and his two friends were supposed to be produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court of Malir. However, Mr. Ali Nawaz was not brought to the court as his friends were. The friends told Mr. Ali Nawaz's family that he was not able to come to the court because of his severe injuries caused by torture. The family members then rushed to the jail, and Mr. Ali Nawaz's younger brother Mr. Madad Ali was told by the on-duty jail police officer that Mr. Ali Nawaz was in severe condition. The police officer also added that if the family did not pay Rs. 20,000 today (February 2), they would receive his dead body from the jail. The policemen allegedly told the younger brother that this was the clear message from Superintendent of Jail, Mr. Shakir Shah.

In the early morning of the following day, Mr. Madad Ali received a call from the Shah Lateef town police station, and he was asked to collect the dead body of his brother Mr. Ali Nawaz from the Malir Central Prision. When the victim's family and other people from his community reached the jail, they saw an ambulance carrying one person. However, they were not informed who was carried by the ambulance. The family waited in front of the prison for hours. In the afternoon, they were told by the jail authorities that Mr. Ali Nawaz was seriously ill, and he was transferred to the Jinnah Hospital in the morning, which is 35 kilometer from the jail. However, this contrasts with what they were told earlier in the morning. The local people and the family then went straightly to the hospital, doctors told them that the victim died of kidneys failure. However, the doctor in-charge of postmortem, Dr. Mohammad Mumtaz Siyal, refused to conduct postmortem and called the police to disperse the people.

After the local people learned about the victim's death, they gathered around the hospital and blocked the roads for protest more than six hours. The high ranking police officers such as town police officer and the superintendent of police in the area reached at the spot, and they promised to conduct postmortem on the victim's body. The postmortem was conducted in late hours of February 3 but the report has not been made to public.

After that, Mr. Ali Nawaz's body was handed over to his family, who saw the severe torture marks over his body. A huge wound was seen at the victim's left kidney, skins on both legs were scraped from several places, blood was oozing from his head, and his neck was with a large wound. Also, there were half a dozen of torture marks on the victim’s back.

The Shah Lateef Bhitai Town police initially refused to file the murder case against the responsible jail police officers on February 3. Then on February 4, more than 2,000 local people blocked the Super Highway, the main artery to up country from Karachi city, protesting against the torture and custodial death of Mr. Ali Nazaz for more than four hours.

Instead of taking action concerning the case, the Karachi city administration reportedly claimed the protest as an ethnic riot, and instructed the Gadap police and the Sohrab Goth police to disperse the protesters. The police then alleged mobilized about 50-60 armed gangsters of Karachi led by Mr. Jannat Gul, who threatened the protesters that they would fire at them if they did not disperse. However, when the number of the protesters increased, and human rights defenders and local leader of the Peoples Party, intervened into this situation, the gangsters fled from the scene.

In the afternoon of February 4, Shah Lateef police then decided to register a murder case against the Jail Superintendent of Malir Central Prison, Mr. Shakir Shah. The Sindh provincial government, facing protests all over Karachi city, also announced that it would suspend the said superintendent from February 5. However, the Superintendent Shakir Shah was reportedly awarded a new position in the Ministry of Interior of the Sindh provincial government, and he was transferred to another city for his new job. It is also reported that no First Information Report (FIR), which is the important first process to seek prosecution, has yet to be registered against the said superintendent of the Malir Central Prison. The police only filed the written complaint from the victim's father. 

It is worth to note that the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi is a notorious hospital, as the government authority often pressurizes the doctors not to conduct the postmortem of high profile cases. The case of Faraz Ahmed Naveed can be one example. 21-year-old Faraz Ahmed Naveed, the son of prominent human rights activist Baseer Naveed was abducted and killed on 8 November 2004. When his body was brought to the Jinnah Hospital by his father, the Medico-legal Officer refused to perform the post mortem without giving any clear reasons, despite Mr. Baseer's repeated request for hours. The hospital even did not accept the body and it was kept in the hot sun for a long time (For details, please see: UA-129-2005).

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant Pakistan authorities listed below, and demand an inquiry into this case. Please also demand that a proper postmortem is conducted by the independent and competent doctor on the victim's body. Please also urge them to take action against policemen responsible for alleged illegal arrest, detention, and torture of the three victims.  

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear _______,

PAKISTAN: Three men allegedly tortured by the police; one man tortured to death in jail

Name of the Victims:
1. Mr. Ali Nawaz s/o Ali Khan, aged 33, construction worker resident of the slum locality in Khamisa Goth, Union Council 9, New Karachi Town, Sindh Province, Pakistan; died by severe torture at Malir central Jail, Karachi
2. Mr. Mehram Warral; construction worker, resident of the same slum locality in Khamisa Goth; tortured at Malir Central Jail by jail authorities
3. Mr. Hidayat Ullah Rind alias Yar Mohammad Rind, resident of the same slum locality in Khamisa Goth; tortured at Malir Central Jail by jail authorities
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Shakir Shah, Superintendent of Malir Central Jail, Karachi, Sindh province, Pakistan
2. Mr. Bori, Head constable of police, stationed at Gadap Police Chowki (kiosk), Super Highway toll plaza, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
3. Officers attached to the Gadap police station
4. Dr Mohammad Mumtaz Siyal, In-charge of Postmortem at Jinnah Hospital Karachi, Pakistan
Date of incident: Arbitrarily arrested on 18 January 2007; Mr. Ali Nawaz died on 3 February 2007 in jail custody
Place of incident: Arbitrarily arrested at Gadap police Kiosk, Toll plaza, Super Highway, Karachi, Sindh province; detained and tortured at the Gadap police station in Gadap town and the Malir Central Jail in Karachi

I am appalled to learn about death of a young man on 3 February 2007, after he was allegedly tortured in the Malir central jail in Karachi, Sindh Province, Pakistan. I am further annoyed that the alleged reason for this brutal killing is the victim's failure to pay bribe to the jail officers.

According to the information I have received, 33 year old Mr. Ali Nawaz was illegally arrested along with his two friends from the Gadap police kiosk at toll plaza, super high way Karachi, Sindh Province at around 8:00pm on 18 January 2007. The alleged reason of their illegal arrest is that they could not pay Rs 5,000 in total (USD 82) to Mr. Bori, who is the head police constable at the kiosk and asked for bribe from the three men. The police constable alleged told them if they did not pay the money, they would be booked in any case. The three men were later taken to the Gadap police station, where they were again asked to pay, this time Rs 10,000 (USD 165).

I am informed that the Gadap police allegedly booked the three victims on false charges of stealing telephone wires. The police officer also tortured them at the police station, when they could not pay the bribe. The three men were then sent to the Malir central jail on January 26, where they were again asked to pay Rs. 20,000 (about USD 330). I am informed that Mr. Ali Nawaz was seriously tortured by the jail police officers, including Superintendent Mr. Shakir Shah, when he protested their unlawful request for bribe.

I am further informed that on February 2, the jail officers, as instructed by Superintendent Shakir Shah, threatened Mr. Ali Nawaz's younger brother Mr. Madad Ali. They told him that if the family did not pay Rs. 20,000, they would receive his dead body from the jail.

On February 3, Mr. Madad Ali was allegedly taken to the Jinnah Hospital, where he was announced dead. Doctors told the family that the victim died of kidneys failure. However, the doctor in charge of postmortem, Dr. Mohammad Mumtaz Siyal, refused to conduct postmortem. I want to draw your attention that the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi is notorious as the government authority often pressurizes the doctors not to conduct the postmortem of high profile cases. For example, in the case of Faraz Ahmed Naveed, the son of prominent human rights activist Baseer Naveed, he was abducted and killed on 8 November 2004, but the medico-legal officer of this hospital refused to perform the post mortem without any clear reasons, despite Mr. Baseer's repeated request for hours. The postmortem of Mr. Madad Ali was finally conducted in late hours of February 3 due to local people's protest but its report has not been made to public. I am also informed that Mr. Ali Nawaz's family found severe torture marks all over his body.

I am deeply concerned that no First Information Report (FIR), the first step for prosecution, has yet been registered against the said superintendent of the Malir Central Prison and other persons responsible for the illegal arrest and torture of the three men. Facing protests all over Karachi city, the Sindh provincial government announced that it would suspend the said superintendent from February 5. Yet, in fact Superintendent Shakir Shah was reportedly awarded a new position in the Ministry of Interior of the Sindh provincial government, and he was transferred to another city for his new job.

In light of above, I strongly urge you to order an immediate and thorough inquiry into the alleged death of Mr. Ali Nawaz and take strong action against responsible jail police officers. Impartial postmortem should be conducted on the victim's body to find out the actual cause of his death; the report should also be made to public. An inquiry should be conducted into the alleged illegal arrest, detention and torture of the three victims, and responsible police officers should be brought to justice as soon as possible.

I also request you to take action to immediately release the two victims and dismiss the charges against them. They are still detained in the prison with false charges. The families of the victims should also be adequately compensated. Lastly, I strongly urge the Government of Pakistan to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and UN Convention against Torture (CAT) without further delay, in order to prevent such brutal crimes committed by the law enforcement officers in the country.

I look for your urgent intervention into this matter.


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: (please see - < http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

2. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

3. Mr. Justice Sabih Uddin
Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92-21-9213220
Email: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk 

4. Mr. Mohamag Ali Durrani
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Email: infominister@infopak.gov.pk

5. Chief Secretary
Government of Sindh
Chief Secretariat,
Karachi, Sindh province,
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 921950
Fax: +92 21 9211946
Email: cs.sindh@sindh.gov.pk 

6. Secretary
(Criminal Prosecution) SGA &CD Department
Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat,
Karachi, Sindh Province.
PAKISTAN
Email: secy.cpsd@sindh.gov.pk

7. Secretary of Home and Prison
Government of Sindh
Tughlaq House,
Karachi,
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9211261 or 9211355
Fax: +92 21 9211359 or 9211549
E-mail: secy.home@sindh.gov.pk 

8. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)

9. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)


Thank you.

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


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-046-2007
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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.