BACKGROUND INFORMATION Acting in his capacity as army chief of staff, on 3 November General Musharraf suspended the bulk of the Constitution, including the rights not be arbitrarily deprived of life and to be guaranteed a fair trial. He assumed powers to amend the Constitution without any parliamentary procedure and proclaimed a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). This order prohibits any court issuing an order against the President, Prime Minister or any person exercising powers under their authority. The PCO and the new oath of office for the superior judiciary effectively rendered the position of existing judges invalid. The majority of the Supreme Court and Higher Court judges declined to take the new oath, resulting in their removal from service. Many of them are now under house arrest. Since the imposition of emergency, police and law enforcement agencies have arrested thousands of lawyers, political activists and human rights defenders. On Monday 5 November, more than 300 lawyers were arrested in Lahore and have been charged under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws. They have since been detained in city jails across the country. There have been mass arrests, into the thousands, of political opponents across the country. Independent TV and Radio news channels have been prevented from broadcasting within the country since Saturday. New laws restricting freedom of print and electronic media were issued, breach of which attracts three to four years imprisonment and heavy fines. Two daily newspapers have been issued with notices to refrain from publishing materials which violate the new press laws.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Urdu, Pashtu, English or your own language: - urging the authorities to ensure that none of the detainees are tortured or otherwise ill-treated; - urging the authorities to ensure that the detainees have access to lawyers of their own choice; - expressing concern that the charges appear to have been levelled for political reasons and aimed to suppress their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and accordingly, that they are prisoners of conscience whom the authorities should release; - calling on the authorities to protect and uphold the constitutional human rights guarantees, including safeguards on life and liberty.
APPEALS TO: President Pervez Musharaff Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan Fax: +92 51 9221422 E-mail: via website: http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx Salutation: Dear President Musharaff Mr Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao Minister for the Interior Ministry for the Interior Room 404, 4th Floor, Block R, Federal Secretariat Islamabad, Pakistan Fax: +92 51 9202624 E-mail: minister@interior.gov.pk
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