Documento - PAKISTAN. Temor por la seguridad / "Desaparición" / Tortura / Preocupación médica

PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 33/029/2005

26 October 2005

Further Information on UA 111/05 (ASA 33/006/2005, 05 May 2005) and follow-ups (ASA 33/014/2005, 8 June 2005, ASA 33/022/2005, 17 August 2005; and ASA 33/024/2005, 26 August 2005) - Fear for safety/"Disappearance"/Torture/Medical concern

PAKISTAN Nawaz Ali (m) ]

Akhter Nadeem (m) ] Members of the Baloch Students

Dr Allah Nazar (m) ] Organisation (BSO)

Rearrested: Dr Yusuf Baloch (m), member of the BSO

New names: 16 members of the BSO

D
r Yusuf Baloch, a member of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO), was rearrested in the town of Turbat in Balochistan on 10 October. He is being held in solitary confinement in TurbatPolice Station, where he has been visited by other members of the BSO. The reason for Yusuf Baloch's rearrest is unknown. He was previously detained incommunicado for two months earlier this year, when he was reportedly tortured. He is at risk of torture or ill-treatment in detention.

Amnesty International has also learnt that 16 other members of the BSO are being held in Turbat Central Jail and have reportedly been severely beaten. The detainees, all men, were arrested in Turbat on 7 and 8 August, after taking part in a protest against the continued detention of BSO members including Dr Allah Nazar, Nawaz Ali and Akhter Nadeem. It is not known if they have been charged with any offence.

BSO members Dr Allah Nazar, Nawaz Ali and Akhter Nadeem have been detained since 25 March, apparently in connection with an alleged robbery. The charges against them are unclear. Dr Allah Nazar has been held in the Jail Ward of the Sandeman Provincial Hospital (also known as the Civil Hospital) in the city of Quetta, Balochistan, since 21 August. According to the BSO, he is still being denied access to adequate medical treatment for injuries he sustained during torture. Hospital authorities have permitted him to see a few visitors. Some of these visitors have reported that Dr Allah Nazar is suffering from severe pain in his chest and stomach and remains paralysed on the left hand side of his head and in his left leg. He also allegedly finds it difficult to stand up as a result of having being beaten on his stomach and lower body. He is being held under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), but it is unclear whether any charges are pending against him.

Nawaz Ali and Akhter Nadeem are being held in a police station in Quetta, and are at risk of physical and mental torture. They were detained incommunicado at an unknown location for several months. In September, Amnesty International received information that they were being held in Quetta, where their families have been able to visit them.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Baloch Students Organisation is a group that is active in highlighting the plight of the Baloch people. They have campaigned on issues including recent allegations of the unlawful killing of villagers by the military in Balochistan. They have also campaigned on the longer standing issue of access to resources such as gas. Balochistan hosts the country’s primary gas installation yet the residents of this province have little access to this resource.

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

- expressing concern for the safety of Dr Yusuf Baloch, detained in Turbat in Balochistan; Dr Allah Nazar, held in the Jail Ward of the Sandeman Provincial Hospital in Quetta; and Nawaz Ali and Akhter Nadeem, both also detained in Quetta; as well as 16 members of the Baloch Students Organisation being held in Turbat Central Jail;

- expressing concern at reports that several of these detainees have been tortured and ill-treated while in custody;

- expressing concern for the health of Dr Allah Nazar, and calling on the authorities to ensure that he is being given all necessary medical care;

- calling on the authorities to grant all the detainees immediate access to lawyers, relatives and any medical treatment they may require;

- seeking assurances that they will not be subjected to torture or ill-treatment;

- calling for their immediate and unconditional release unless they have been charged with a recognizably criminal offence;

- calling for an impartial investigation into the allegations that all the men have been tortured or ill-treated, and into the failure of the Pakistan authorities to disclose where Dr Yusuf Baloch, Dr Allah Nazar, Nawaz Ali, Akhter Nadeem and three other detainees were held following their arrest on 25 March 2005;

- calling for the results of the investigation to be made public and those found to be responsible to be brought to justice.