(RSF/IFEX) – RSF says it is relieved by the release of Pakistani journalist Mehruddin Marri but “outraged by the torture inflicted on him by the army during his detention.” Marri had been missing since his abduction on 27 June 2006 in the southern province of Sindh. “These methods seem to have become the army’s preferred […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF says it is relieved by the release of Pakistani journalist Mehruddin Marri but “outraged by the torture inflicted on him by the army during his detention.” Marri had been missing since his abduction on 27 June 2006 in the southern province of Sindh.
“These methods seem to have become the army’s preferred tool for scaring journalists suspected of links with the Baluch movement,” RSF said, calling for a thorough investigation into the kidnapping.
Marri, who works for the Sindhi-language daily “Kawish”, was able to return home after being released by military intelligence officers on 24 October. In an interview for the BBC World Service’s Urdu-language service, he said he was arrested by police in Thatta and then handed over to the army. Thereafter, he was taken to an unidentified location and interrogated by military personnel, above all about his family ties with Baluch leaders.
“I was beaten and given electric shocks, and I fainted,” he said. “Then they prevented me from sleeping for three nights. I had to stand up in the middle of a room and when I fell down someone would come in and wake me.” The military tried to make him confess to links with the Baluch nationalist movement. Before being released, a military officer told him: “Never oppose the state and the secret services.”
Munir Mengal, one of the founders of the Baluchi-language television station Baloch Voice, is still missing after being kidnapped on 7 April.
