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UPDATE (Pakistan): Human rights lawyer in serious condition after he was brutally tortured by the police

November 16, 2007

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of government authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the  authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

16 November 2007

[RE: UP-150-2007: PAKISTAN: Prominent lawyer disappears; eight others charged with high treason, tortured in detention; UP-149-2007: PAKISTAN: New ordinances deprive press freedom; journalists systematically attacked; UG-008-2007: PAKISTAN: State sanctioned attack on justices, lawyers and activists challenging the emergency]
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UP-153-2007: PAKISTAN: Human rights lawyer in serious condition after he was brutally tortured by the police

PAKISTAN: State of emergency; torture; arbitrary arrest and detention; human rights defender; absence of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the serious medical condition of a prominent human rights lawyer, Mr. Syed Hassan Tariq. He was brutally tortured by the police upon instructions allegedly by the provincial chief minister in Nawabshah, Sindh Province after he was arrested on 8 November 2007. Mr. Tariq is one of the thousands of lawyers arrested and detained following the imposition of the state of emergency. He suffered internal bleeding to his lungs and his two ribs were fractured. He also had huge torture marks on his back. His physician said that his condition was so severe that he may have less chances of surviving.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

On 8 November 2007, Mr. Syed Hassan Tariq, a prominent human rights lawyer and member of executive committee of district bar association in Nawabshah, Sindh Province, was arrested by the police during a demonstration against the state of emergency. He was one of protestors against the arrest of lawyers and placing of Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Iftekhar Choudhry, and justices of district high courts under house arrest. The police took him to an unknown place following his arrest where he was kept overnight.

It was Police officer Mr. Ghulam Nabi Kharal, Station House Officer (SHO) of A Section police station in Nawabshah, who had severely tortured him overnight. While torturing him, he had ridiculed him that he should seek help from Chief Justice Choudhry. The SHO pressured him that he should chant slogans in favour of General Musharraf and his government, but Mr. Tariq refused to obey his demands. The police officers had allegedly been instructed by Dr. Arbab Rahim, provincial chief minister of Sindh, to torture Mr. Tariq.

The following day, Mr. Tariq was taken to the A Section police station from the unknown place where the police brutally tortured him. At that time, his injuries were already serious but no one knew about his condition inside the police custody. Mr. Tariq was detained at the said police station until November 12.

On November 12, Mr. Tariq was taken to the National Medical College and Hospital in Nawabshah. When the physicians examined him he was diagnosed to have internal bleeding to his lungs, his two ribs were fractured and had huge torture marks to his back. The physicians immediately had him admitted in their hospital for treatment but the police, including Police officer Mr. Kharal, instead refused pressuring them that he should not be admitted. At the time, the physicians had no idea who the victim was.

The physicians who examined Mr. Tariq nevertheless refused to turn him over back to the policemen. After the police realised how serious Mr. Tariq's medical condition was, they went away and abandoned him at the hospital.

The hospital authorities then informed the journalists that man in serious condition had been taken to their hospital by the police. When the journalists came, only then they have been to recognize that it was Mr. Tariq, a prominent human rights lawyer in the area. The news over his arrest and subsequent brutal torture spread all over the city. After the people learn about the incident they came out and held demonstrations against the police.

When Mr. Tariq gained consciousness, he told some journalist interviewing him that he was repeatedly severely beaten with hard object. They also punched and kicked him in different parts of his body. He also said that the police tied and hoisted him up and down. He told his family about how he was ridiculed by the police while they were torturing him telling him that he should seek help from the Chief Justice Choudhry.

Instead of taking action into the victim's serious allegation, Mr. Ghulam Sarwer Jamali, the district police officer (DPO), defended his police officers. He denied that neither his policemen tortured Mr. Tariq nor they had any thing to do with his arrest. Mr. Jamali is the most senior police officer in the said district. The medical findings however showed that the victim's injuries were caused by beatings and torture. The physician would be performing medical operations to remove the blood clot in his lungs but they fear he may have less chance of surviving.

Mr. Syed Tariq had been deeply involved in helping victims of custodial torture, human rights violations and honor killings. He was also an activist for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, whose head Ms. Asma Jehangir is also presently placed under house arrest. The district police are said to be very critical of him because of the nature of his work and the nature of cases he was handling.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

In our previous appeal UG-008-2007, we mentioned that 3,500 lawyers have already been arrested all over the country. Forty-six court justices, including Chief Justice Choudhry, remains under house arrest. The lawyers are arrested for demonstrating against the imposition of the emergency. The justices, on the other hand, are pressured to pledge allegiance with military president Pervez Musharraf by signing the Provincial Constitution Order (PCO) he had proposed otherwise remains under house arrest.

Some of the justices have signed while the others remained defiant. The latter are those being systematically denied of their fundamental rights. Some of them are not even allowed to purchase medicines for their regular medications, seek treatment for their sick children and were prevented from doing their routine exercise for their illnesses.

Also, although thousands of lawyers have already been arrested, information regarding the present condition of each lawyer could hardly be obtained. And even those lawyers whose places of detention are ascertained, their relatives are not allowed visits; thereby making it impossible to ensure they are properly treated inside the jails. The arrested lawyers, some of them are undergoing regular medications, were also either prevented from taking their medicines or they are not given any medicines at all. They too were systematically deprived of any due process and legal representation since their arrest.

The case of Mr. Tariq illustrates the greats risk the other lawyers and other persons whom the security forces have arrested and detained in connection with the emergency rule. Given the Pakistani police and military's records of systematic and routine use of torture, this present condition aggravates the lack of remedies for victims of torture and those who are facing serious risks of torture in custody of the security forces.

Please also see previous appeals and statements regarding the current situation in Pakistan:

AL-035-2007: PAKISTAN: Canadian, Dutch and Hong Kong lawyers call for release of Pakistan lawyers and return to rule of law

AHRC-PL-049-2007: PAKISTAN: Sex videos reveal Musharraf "will stoop to any low"

UP-150-2007: PAKISTAN: Prominent lawyer disappears; eight others charged with high treason, tortured in detention

UP-149-2007: PAKISTAN: New ordinances deprive press freedom; journalists systematically attacked

UG-008-2007: PAKISTAN: State sanctioned attack on justices, lawyers and activists challenging the emergency

AS-263-2007: PAKISTAN: EMERGENCY - Election announcement nothing more than a vague diversionary tactic

AS-261-2007: PAKISTAN: EMERGENCY - Purpose of courts is to scrutinise other parts of government, not serve as rubber stamps for petty dictators

AS-259-2007: PAKISTAN: EMERGENCY - "Arrest" without criminal procedure and functioning courts is abduction

For the latest news on Pakistan, please visit http://pakistan.ahrchk.net.

SUGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities concerned below urging them to intervene into Mr. Syed Hassan Tariq's case. Those involved in arresting and torturing him must be held to account. The condition of other lawyers and persons arrested under emergency rule presently in detention should be ascertained and accounted for. To ensure the welfare of these persons it is necessary by ascertaining their condition to prevent them from becoming torture victim.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

PAKISTAN: Human rights lawyer in serious condition after he was brutally tortured by the police

Name of the victim: Mr. Syed Hassan Tariq, a prominent human rights lawyer and member of executive committee of district bar association in Nawabshah, Sindh Province. He is now presently admitted at the National Medical College and Hospital in Nawabshah, Sindh
Alleged perpetrators: Police officer Mr. Ghulam Nabi Kharal, Station House Officer (SHO) of A Section police station in Nawabshah; Dr. Arbab Rahim, chief provincial minister of Sindh
Date of incident: From 8 to 12 November 2007
Place of incident: In Nawabshah, Sindh

I am shocked to learn about the brutal torture of a prominent human rights lawyer, Mr. Syed Hassan Tariq, following his arrest on November 8. Mr. Tariq was arrested from a crowd of protesters who are demonstrating against the imposition of state of emergency. Following his arrest, instead of taking him directly to a police station, the police took him to an unknown location where he was brutally beaten and tortured.

I have learn that it was Police officer Mr. Ghulam Nabi Kharal, station house officer (SHO) of A Section police station in Nawabshah who had tortured Mr. Tariq upon instructions by the chief provincial minister of Sindh, Dr. Arbab Rahim. Mr. Tariq was repeatedly beaten with hard objects, punched and kicked in different parts of his body. They also tied and hoisted him and pulled down. He was also ridiculed by the police while he was being tortured telling him that he should seek the help from the chief justice of Pakistan.

When they took him to the police station later, he was already seriously ill and no one was aware of his condition, or that he was being detained at the A Section of the police station. Only on November 12 did the policemen taken him to the National Medical College and Hospital in Nawabshah for treatment. Mr. Tariq was never afforded any treatment and his family was not properly informed of his condition while in police custody. Despite the severity of the injuries he had suffered, the police refused to have him admitted at the hospital for treatment. Had the physicians not insisted of not refusing to turn him over back to them, he would not have been treated for the injuries he suffered.

Medical examinations on him revealed that he has suffered internal bleeding to his lungs, he had two fractured ribs, and a huge torture mark to his neck apparently due to beatings. The physicians' findings also disclose that his injuries were caused by severe beatings using hard objects. Although he has already been admitted at the hospital, I am gravely concerned of information that he may have little chances of surviving due the severity of his injuries. The hospital would perform medical operation to remove the blood clot in his lungs.

I urge you to exhaust all means to ensure that he is given adequate medical attention in order to improve his chances of recovery. Also take immediate action against those responsible in arresting, detaining and torturing the victim. The police officer and the provincial minister must answer the allegations against them. They must be held to account once it is proven that they are responsible in torturing the victim.

Furthermore, please also ensure that each lawyer and person who are arrested in connection with the imposition of state of emergency are all accounted for and that their present condition is ascertain. This will ensure that those facing serious risks of torture and maltreatment are prevented from becoming victims of torture while in custody of security forces. The families of those in detention must be allowed access to visit them and provide necessary assistance. The detainees, particularly those ailing and those needing regular medications must be properly taken cared of. I once again urge you to ensure the immediate release of lawyers, judges and persons arrested in connection with the imposition of the state of emergency.

I am deeply concerned by the worsening crisis and the lack of remedies for people who are arrested and detained there. It is shocking that the fundamental and non-derogable rights, particularly freedom from torture, are routinely and systematically violated on the pretext of the emergency rule. The government, as a member state of the United Nations and state party to Conventions governing protection of human rights, is obligated to observe respect to the international human rights laws regardless of its condition, in particular regarding the treatment of prisoners and the independence of lawyers and judges.

It is extremely disappointing that lawyers are systematically attack, arrested, detained and brutally tortured by security forces while exercising freedom expression and assembly. The lack of remedies for these persons is extremely appalling. It is therefore necessary for you to take adequate action to protect the lives and ensure safety of these people.

I trust that your action in this serious matter is forthcoming.

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. Afzal Haider
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
Email: minister@molaw.gov.pk

3. Lieutenant General Hamid Nawaz
Federal Minister of Interior
Room#404, 4th Floor, R Block,
Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 9212026
Fax: + 92 51 9202624
Email: minister@interior.gov.pk

4. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
Email: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk 

5. Dr. Ishrat UL Ibad
Governor of Sindh province
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 920 1201
Fax: +92 21 920 5043

6. Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000

7. 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 

8. Secretary
(Criminal Prosecution) SGA &CD Department
Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9213327-6
Fax: +92 21 9213873
Email: secy.cpsd@sindh.gov.pk

9. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court Building
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9213770
Fax: +92 51 9213452
E-mail: registrar@supremecourt.gov.pk

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

11. Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Room: 3-060
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9160
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR INDEPENDENCE JUDGES & LAWYERS)

12. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Room 1-040
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-153-2007
Countries :
Issues :
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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.