(PPF/IFEX) – On 18 May 2007, unidentified individuals assaulted and injured Shakeel Ahmad Turabi, editor-in-chief of the SANA news agency, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. In a complaint filed with the local police, Turabi said two men intercepted his car, dragged him a few yards off the road and then beat him. The assailants […]
(PPF/IFEX) – On 18 May 2007, unidentified individuals assaulted and injured Shakeel Ahmad Turabi, editor-in-chief of the SANA news agency, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
In a complaint filed with the local police, Turabi said two men intercepted his car, dragged him a few yards off the road and then beat him. The assailants shouted abuse and warned him against anti-government coverage of the ongoing judicial crisis created by the suspension of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Turabi, who was kicked in the face, was admitted to a hospital and was expected to be released by 21 May.
Turabi said he believes the assault was committed by state intelligence agents in retaliation for news reports of his that contradicted the government’s assertion that police officers, and not intelligence agents, had manhandled Chaudhry.
Islamabad journalists protested against the attack on Turabi and demanded the immediate arrest of the assailants.
