(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: **Updates IFEX alerts of 2 June, 1 June, 31 May, 26 May, 25 May, 18 May, 12 May, 10 May, 6 May, 5 May and 19 April 1999** For immediate release 2 June 1999 PAKISTAN EDITOR’S RELEASE WELCOMED ARTICLE 19, the International Centre Against […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:
**Updates IFEX alerts of 2 June, 1 June, 31 May, 26 May, 25 May, 18 May, 12
May, 10 May, 6 May, 5 May and 19 April 1999**
For immediate release
2 June 1999
PAKISTAN EDITOR’S RELEASE WELCOMED
ARTICLE 19, the International Centre Against Censorship, today welcomed news
that the Pakistan government has agreed to release editor Najam Sethi and to
drop charges against him. Mr Sethi has been imprisoned for nearly a month
without charge, initially at an undisclosed location, after being violently
seized at his home by armed security personnel.
Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19 said:
“The Pakistan Supreme Court has given a welcome reminder to the government
of its obligation to abide by the rule of law, and sent a clear message that
kidnap and detention without charge are unacceptable.
“ARTICLE 19 welcomes the government’s subsequent decision to withdraw the
charges against Mr Sethi, which attempted to stifle his right to freedom of
expression, and contravened the Constitution of Pakistan as well as
international law,” he continued.
“Despite this positive decision, ARTICLE 19 remains extremely concerned at
official attempts to criminalise peaceful expression of opinion, part of a
wider trend of attacks on civil society in Pakistan. Reports that a ‘special
media cell’ may be set up specifically to target journalists critical of
government policy is particularly alarming and suggests a sanction from the
highest level for the violation of press freedom guarantees,” Mr Puddephatt
concluded.
Article 19 of Pakistan’s Constitution expressly guarantees that “every
citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there
shall be freedom of the press”. Article 9 states that “every person who is
arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before a magistrate
within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest”. Both these provisions
have been violated in the case of Najam Sethi, and also Hussain Haqqani, who
was seized by men believed to be agents from Pakistan’s Federal
Investigation Agency on 4 May.
Furthermore, Pakistan has international commitments to uphold human rights
and freedom of expression as a member of the United Nations – particularly
under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by which
Pakistan is bound, as well as under the Harare Declaration of the
Commonwealth.
Note for Editors
Government attacks on civil society in Pakistan over the past month have
also included the closure of thousands of non-governmental organisations,
and the threat of suspension of many thousands of others for ‘anti-state’ or
‘anti-Islamic’ activities.
