Documento - Pakistán. "Desaparición" / Temor de tortura y malos tratos

PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 33/015/2006

05 May 2006

UA 124/06 "Disappearance"/Fear of torture and ill-treatment

PAKISTAN Abdul Rauf Sasoli (m)

Saeed Brohi (m)

The two men named above, who are leaders of a Baloch political party, the Jamhoori Watan (Republican National Party) were detained by the security forces in February and March respectively, and have not been seen or heard from since. The authorities have denied all knowledge, and they are feared to have "disappeared". They are in danger of torture.

Abdul Raof Sasoli was picked up by two plainclothes police officers on 3 February as he was coming out of the Safari Park, in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi. The police apparently drove him away in his own car. Saeed Brohi, who was with Abdul Raof Sasoli at the time he was abducted, was picked up on 10 March in Karachi.

A lawyer has filed habeas corpus petition in the High Court for each of the men, and believes they are in the custody of Pakistan Military Intelligence. Both the provincial police and military departments have denied having either man in their custody. Their habeas corpus petitions are due for another hearing in mid-May and the court is now waiting for a response from the Federal Ministry of Defence (which is responsible for Military Intelligence) on the whereabouts of both men.

The abduction and unacknowledged detention of these and other Baloch activists violates a number of human rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan, as well as international human rights standards. The Constitution states in Article 9: "No person shall be deprived of life and liberty, save in accordance with law." It lays down in Article 10 that every detainee has the right to be informed of the charges against them, to consult and be defended by a lawyer of their choice and be brought before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. None of these requirements have been fulfilled in this case.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Balochistan is one of the least-developed regions of Pakistan, although it is the site of the country's principal natural gas installation. The Jamhoori Watan Party is one of a number of Baloch parties campaigning for the region to be better developed, and for local people to be given both a bigger share of the revenue from the gas produced in the province, and more access to the gas itself for cooking and heating. Following a December 2005 attempt on President Musharraf’s life a military operation was launched in Balochistan. Baloch political activists have campaigned over recent allegations of the unlawful killing of villagers by the army in Balochistan.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:

- expressing concern for the safety of Abdul Raof Sasoli and Saeed Brohi, who "disappeared" following their arrest in February and March 2006 respectively;

- reminding the government that incommunicado detention is a violation of an individual’s fundamental rights underlined by Articles 9 & 10 of the Pakistan Constitution;

-calling on the authorities to make the whereabouts of Abdul Raof Sasoli and Saeed Brohi known without delay;

- seeking assurances that they are not being tortured or ill-treated;

- calling for them to be granted access to their families, lawyers, and any medical attention they may require;

- calling for them to be released if they are in custody, unless they are charged with a recognizably criminal offence, in which case they must be given a fair and prompt trial.