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PAKISTAN: Police fail to make arrests following the gang rape of a girl

June 23, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

23 June 2006
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UA-199-2006: PAKISTAN: Police fail to make arrests following the gang rape of a girl

PAKISTAN: Rape of a child; police inaction; misuse of political power; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of the appalling gang rape of a 17-year-old girl by six men who are allegedly members of local political parties.

The 17-year-old victim (whose name we withhold) was kidnapped on 6 June 2006. It is alleged that she was taken from her neighbourhood while on her way to perform a religious duty, in the car of the advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh, Mr. Imam Din Shouquin. The time of kidnapping was 3.30pm and the car used was blue. When the car approached the victim two persons confronted the victim and overpowered her by using an unknown chemical which caused her to lose consciousness. When the victim regained consciousness some time later she found that she had been taken to an unknown place and placed in a room with six intoxicated men. She was then raped by all the men present.

At 10pm that evening the victim was dropped off at a location nearby to the village of Allahyar. When she reached her home her father and brother took her to the Tando Adam Police Station to register a case against the suspects. However, the duty officer at the police station refused to lodge a case after learning that the suspects were affiliated with the ruling parties such as the MQM, the Pakistan Muslim League Functional and Jeay Sindh.

The following day the victim and her family returned to the police station and met with the station house officer (SHO). The SHO agreed to lodge a case but upon learning that the suspects were politically connected, he said he would only do this once he conducted investigations into the allegations. In doing so, the SHO was delaying the arrest of the suspects and giving them time to devise an alibi for their whereabouts at the time of the crime. The SHO then asked the victim to return the following day so that he could issue a letter for a medical examination of her.

When they returned the following day the SHO informed them that he would only issue the letter if they promised to register the case against only several of the suspects. If, however, the victim wished to pursue all of the suspects, then the SHO said he would not help her. It was only when the victim’s family threatened to take the matter to the press and human rights organizations that the police finally registered a case on June 9.  However, the case was lodged naming only Khan Chan, Ismail and Israr and had failed to include Ayub Khos, Sanaullah and another person who were also involved in the crime.

The victim was taken for a medical examination at Taluka Tando Adam Hospital on June 10. Though a case was filed, to date no medical examination report has been issued and no arrests have been made.

The victim and her family have begun a hunger strike in front of the Hyderabad Press Club against the police and the political parties whose workers are involved in the rape case.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below condemning the police’s inaction in bringing justice to this case. Please ask that arrests be immediately laid and that the victim is afforded any necessary treatment to help her in her recovery.

Automated email letters can be sent by the AHRC Urgent Appeals on-line support system. To support this appeal please refer to http://www.ahrchk.net/support.php?ua=UA-199-2006. For those contacts without an email address, we ask that you still write a letter and post or fax this. If you have any problems or questions using this system, please feel free to contact us at ua@ahrchk.org.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

PAKISTAN: Police fail to make arrests following the gang rape of a girl

I write to voice my condemnation at the appalling gang rape of a girl and the police’s unwillingness to pursue those responsible. The 17-year-old victim was kidnapped on 6 June 2006 near her home in Tando Adam Khan, Sanghar District, Sindh province. She was at the time on her way to perform a religious duty.

Two persons in a blue car overpowered the victim and took her away. She was later taken to an unknown location where six men, all of whom had been drinking alcohol, raped her. At 10pm that evening the victim was dropped off nearby her vaillage of Allahyar.

When she reached her home her father and brother took her to the Tando Adam Police Station to register a case against the suspects. However, the duty officer at the police station refused to lodge a case after learning that the suspects were affiliated with local political parties such as the MQM, the Pakistan Muslim League Functional and Jeay Sindh.

The following day the victim and her family returned to the police station and met with the station house officer (SHO). The SHO agreed to lodge a case but upon learning that the suspects were politically connected, he said he would only do this once he conducted investigations into the allegations. In doing so, the SHO was delaying the arrest of the suspects and giving them time to devise an alibi for their whereabouts at the time of the crime. The SHO then asked the victim to return the following day so that he could issue a letter for a medical examination of her.

When they returned the following day the SHO informed them that he would only issue the letter if they promised to register the case against only several of the suspects. If, however, the victim wished to pursue all of the suspects, then the SHO said he would not help her. It was only when the victim’s family threatened to take the matter to the press and human rights organizations that the police finally registered a case on June 9.  However, the case was lodged naming only Khan Chan, Ismail and Israr and had failed to include Ayub Khos, Sanaullah and another person who were also involved in the crime.

The victim was taken for a medical examination at Taluka Tando Adam Hospital on June 10. Though a case was filed, to date no medical examination report has been issued and no arrests have been made. The victim and her family have begun a hunger strike in front of the Hyderabad Press Club against the police and the political parties whose workers are involved in the rape case.

I ask that you take immediate action into this case so that justice may be served to all involved. The medical examination report must be immediately released and arrests made against the suspects. If the allegations can be substantiated then charges must follow and the suspects brought before a court of law. The victim must receive all the necessary treatment for the trauma she has suffered.

The victim has endured something horrific. I ask that your intervention be forthcoming so that those who are responsible for the crimes committed against her are appropriately punished for their shocking actions.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
Email: (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 Iftekhar Choudhry
Chief Justice of Pakistan
Supreme Court building
Islam abad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 921 3452

4. Mr. Justice Sabih Uddin
Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 921 3220
Email: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk

5. Mr. Ishrat-ul- Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh
Governor House Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 21 920 1201
Email: C/o mlty_secretary@governorsindh.gov.pk

6. Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 21 9202000

7. Mrs. Saira Karim
Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 920 2819
Fax: + 92 51 920 3119

8. UNICEF Pakistan
Pakistan Country Office - Islamabad
90 Margalla Road
F - 8/2
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 2097700
Fax: +92 51 2097799
Email: islamabad@unicef.org

9. Mr. Jacob Egbert Doek
Chairperson
Committee on the Rights of the Child
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9022
Email: urgent-action@ohchr.org

10. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Email: vbirga@ohchr.org / urgent-action@ohchr.org  (please also cc: rrico@ohchr.org)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-199-2006
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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.