(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC remains seriously concerned about the safety of Najam Sethi, editor of the national newspaper “Friday Times”, who is now reported to be in the custody of the military intelligence (Inter Services Intelligence, ISI). He is said to be held in solitary confinement in a cell without light. **Updates IFEX alerts of 18 […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC remains seriously concerned about the safety of Najam
Sethi, editor of the national newspaper “Friday Times”, who is now reported
to be in the custody of the military intelligence (Inter Services
Intelligence, ISI). He is said to be held in solitary confinement in a cell
without light.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 18 May, 12 May, 10 May, and 6 May 1999**
According to Amnesty International, a Supreme Court hearing on 17 May 1999
allowed Sethi to meet his family and a lawyer that day. At a further hearing
on 20 May, the Supreme Court ruled that Sethi be allowed to see his family
and lawyer twice a week. According to official sources, Sethi is being held
for alleged links with India’s intelligence agency, although no charges
against him have been made public. Sethi’s wife Jugnoo Mohsin has appealed
against the Lahore High Court’s dismissal of a habeas corpus petition to
produce Sethi in court after his 8 May arrest on the grounds that the ISI
was a military organisation and as such outside the jurisdiction of the
civilian judiciary. The appeal, which has been accepted by the High Court,
challenged the arrest of a civilian under the Army Act and stated that the
army had denied any involvement in the arrest. The Supreme Court has ruled
that the appeal hearing to determine whether the ISI was empowered to arrest
Sethi under the Army Act will commence on 31 May.
Sethi was beaten up in his home by a large group of police on 8 May before
being taken into detention. He is said to have spent two days in the custody
of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), where he is reported to have been tortured.
Government officials have reportedly stated that Sethi’s arrest is connected
with a speech he gave to the India-Pakistan Friendship Society on 30 April
in New Delhi on problems facing Pakistan. However, Mohsin and other
journalists in Pakistan believe that Sethi’s arrest is linked to his
journalistic contact with a BBC team investigating corruption in Pakistan.
WiPC is also seriously concerned for the safety of Hussain Haqqani,
journalist for the “Friday Times” and the Urdu-language daily “Jang”.
Haqqani was reportedly abducted on 4 May and taken into the custody of
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Haqqani’s lawyer reports that he has only been allowed to meet his client
once and in the presence of FIA staff, and claims that Haqqani showed signs
of having been tortured. The lawyer has now been refused access to Haqqani
after making a public statement about the torture suffered by his client.
Haqqani is reportedly being held under a two-year old corruption charge of
which he had been exonerated. Unofficial sources believe his detention may
be connected with interviews he gave to the BBC team producing a programme
for the series “Correspondent” on government corruption in Pakistan.
WiPC considers Sethi to be detained in violation of his right to freedom of
expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, to which Pakistan is a signatory, and is
calling for his immediate and unconditional release. It also fears that
Haqqani may be detained solely for exercising his legitimate right to
freedom of expression.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
arrested in a violent manner without a warrant
as
a matter of urgency
counsel and family members whilst in detention
harassment against journalists in Pakistan for the legitimate exercise of
their professional duties and calling upon the government of Pakistan to
investigate this matter, with particular attention to the cases of Sethi and
Haqqani, as a matter of urgency
Appeals To
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Office of the Prime Minister
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 920 8890 / 92 51 920 5532
E-mail: primeminister@pak.gov.pkChaudhary Shujat Hussain, Interior Minister
Office of the Interior Minister
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 920 2624Mushahid Hussain, Minister for Information
Office of the Ministry for Information
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 920 4933Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Pakistan in your
country.
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
