Pakistan: Four Years After Coup, Rights Abuses Abound
(New York, October 10, 2003) -- Pervez Musharraf's four-year
rule in Pakistan has led to serious human rights abuses,
Human Rights Watch charged today in a letter to the
Pakistani president. On the fourth anniversary of the
military coup that brought General Musharraf to power, Human
Rights Watch called on him to immediately return the country
to constitutional rule.Full ReportPakistan: New anti-terrorist courts breach fair trial norms
5 February 2002 keralamonitor.com
Including military officers in panels of judges which try
'terrorist' offences will undermine the independence of the
judiciary which is a key guarantor of the protection of human
rights, Amnesty International said today. The organization urged
the Government of Pakistan to withdraw this provision of the new
Anti-terrorism amendment ordinance.President Musharraf had indicated in his speech to the
nation on 12 January that sectarian violence had undermined the
writ of the government and needed to be brought to an end. He
said that in the year 2001 alone, 400 people had been killed in
Pakistan on account of "sectarianism and terrorism". Besides
strengthening the law enforcement apparatus, the justice system
needed to be strengthened and made more efficient to curb
sectarian violence, he added.The new ordinance issued on 31 January provides for new
courts. They will include one senior military officer nominated
by the government besides two civilian judicial officers
constituting a three-member bench headed by a civilian judge. The
courts will sit in cantonments or jail premises to ensure the
security of accused, witnesses and the judiciary. A senior
officer said, "these are not military courts in the true sense,
but these courts will comprise civil judges and military officers
to speedily dispose of cases of all those involved in
terrorism".The courts in Pakistan, including anti-terrorist courts
in operation since 1997 which are to try cases speedily, have a
heavy backlog of cases leading to long delays in the dispensation
of justice. Cases involving sectarian murders often collapse as
people are afraid to come forward and testify. Judges are known
to have delayed giving judgments for fear of becoming the target
of violence themselves. Violence on court premises has increased
over time with judicial officers, accused persons and witnesses
attacked, injured or killed. These factors taken together have
led to an atmosphere of impunity in which people have committed
sectarian violence in the knowledge that they would not be
punished, leading to a self-perpetuating cycle of such violence."While urgent steps are needed to ensure that those
accused of sectarian violence are brought to justice speedily and
to ensure that those involved in the criminal justice process are
safe, having the military participate in the judicial process is
not permissible. Justice must not only be done but also be seen
to be done and dispensed by those properly qualified to do so and
independent of the executive," Amnesty International said.Trial by special tribunals including military staff
contravenes Principle 5 of the United Nations Basic Principles on
the Independence of the Judiciary, endorsed by the General
Assembly in 1985. It states: "Everyone has the right to be tried
by ordinary courts or tribunals using established legal
procedures. Tribunals that do not use the duly established
procedures of the legal process shall not be created to displace
the jurisdiction belonging to the ordinary courts of judicial
tribunals."Background
The anti-terrorism law was passed in August 1997; it gave police
wide-ranging powers to arrest suspects and established special
anti-terrorism courts. Amnesty International at the time pointed
out the manifold ways in which the law violated human rights
particularly the right to a fair trial. The Supreme Court of
Pakistan declared that the Anti-terrorism law as a whole was not
unconstitutional but that 12 key sections of the law were
unconstitutional and needed to be amended. Several months later
this was done by an Amendment Act. Dozens of people have
meanwhile been tried and convicted by these special courts which
still fail to provide a fair trial. Most of the death sentences
in Pakistan are imposed by anti- terrorist courts.In November 1998, summary military courts were set up to
try, within three days, civilians suspected of specified serious
offences. Several people were tried and convicted by these
special courts; several were sentenced to death and two men were
executed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared these
courts unconstitutional and ordered them disbanded.The new anti-terrorist law, which replaced the old one of 1997,
came into force on 31 January 2002. It will remain in force until
30 November 2002 but may be extended.
Israel Ooccupied Territories /PA: Only justice can end human rights crisis, say Amnesty International delegates
5 February 2002 keralamonitor.com
Amnesty International delegates who have been visiting Israel and
the Occupied Territories said that only justice and a commitment
to uphold human rights for all can end a crisis which is
spiralling out of control."We saw both populations, Palestinians and Jews, living
in fear. Every Palestinian in the Occupied Territories is
affected in a cycle of repression which is bringing people to
despair. Israelis are living in constant fear of suicide bombs
and armed attacks which have deliberately targeted civilians,
killing and wounding people in streets, shops and bars. Trampling
on people's human rights cannot be justified under any
circumstances, not in the name of security and not in the name of
freedom," Amnesty International said.The delegates, who included a military adviser, said that
the Israeli use of weapons that cause massive destruction of
property, laser-guided bombs dropped by F-16 aircraft and Apache
helicopter-launched Air to Ground Hellfire missiles, have made
Palestinians in towns constantly watch the sky in fear. Houses
and infrastructure have been shelled and demolished without
regard for the rules of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which not
only prohibits collective punishments but also the destruction of
property except when "absolutely necessary" for military
operations.Delegates condemned the use of tank shells containing
flechettes in the Gaza Strip. "Each shell may contain up to 5,000
arrows the size of nails, each one capable of killing. "They are
entirely inappropriate for use in one of the most densely
populated areas in the world", said delegates."Areas of Palestinian homes which we had visited several
times over the past year were now razed to the ground for alleged
security reasons but apparently as collective punishment", said
delegates. "It is unacceptable that without warning or legality
tanks and bulldozers demolish the homes of hundreds of families,
including thousands of children", the organization said.Such demolitions are particularly devastating in a
context in which up to 48% of the population are now out of work
and relying on UN handouts. They have become, together with
closures and checkpoints, part of a daily diet of harassment and
humiliation for Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories.Amnesty International has frequently condemned house
demolitions and has also stated that the failure to investigate
unlawful killings was allowing frightened or reckless soldiers to
carry out such killings with impunity.Now many Israeli soldiers, conscripts and reservists are
telling their government that they do not want to carry out such
violations of human rights, stating that rules of engagement and
orders from commanding officers have led to killings of
Palestinians when no lives were in danger."One soldier told us that rules of engagement in the town
where he was serving ordered a soldier to kill someone about to
light a Molotov cocktail even when the soldier was in a heavily
protected pillbox and in no danger," said delegates. More than
150 reservists have signed a statement saying that they will no
longer serve in the Occupied Territories "to expel, starve and
humiliate an entire people"."The IDF, whose mission statement emphasises "the supreme
value of human life", is accepting or even ordering unpardonable
acts. In Artas village near Bethlehem eyewitnesses told us how on
29 January soldiers had left a wounded man, Ahmad Ilyas 'Aysh, in
mud and rain for more than an hour during the night while they
called for his brother to give himself up." Nobody was allowed to
come near to help him."Wilful killings, inhuman treatment and unjustified
demolitions of homes are grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva
Convention," said delegates.During their visit to Jenin, which had been cut off from
the outside world for 27 days in December 2001 following suicide
bombings which killed more than 27 civilians in Israeli towns,
delegates visited victims of attacks by Israeli soldiers who had
randomly sprayed schools and residential areas with shells and
bullets. During the closures patients from surrounding villages
were unable to get to hospital in Jenin; at least two pregnant
women who were turned back lost their new-born babies. Even now,
barriers and the blocking of many roads to Palestinians means
that a journey of 20 kilometres can take three hours along
tortuous, unpaved roads. "Freedom of movement is a right which is
constantly violated for all Palestinians in Israel's Occupied
Territories," said delegates.Delegates also condemned Palestinian armed attacks on
Israeli civilians. The delegation visited a West Bank settlement
to talk to a victim of a drive by shooting in August 2001,
Stephen Bloomberg. "His wife, a nurse, has been killed, he is
paralysed, one daughter is in a wheelchair," said the delegates.
"The deliberate targeting of civilians can never be justified,"
said Amnesty International. Amnesty International delegations,
including this one, have frequently visited leaders of
Palestinian armed groups to condemn the targeting of civilians
and urge an end to these abuses.The Palestinian Authority should arrest all those who
have planned or carried out armed attacks. But delegates
expressed concern that those arrested were frequently not given
any access to lawyers or families and appeared to be held outside
any legal framework. "Justice for the victims of these groups can
only be achieved through respect for human rights, including the
right to fair trial," delegates commented.Amnesty International repeats its call for the
international community to act and to send international
observers with a strong, transparent and public mandate to
monitor the respect of international humanitarian law and human
rights to the Occupied Territories.
USA: Amnesty International to tour jails housing post September 11 detainees - but access to federal detention facility "stonewalled"
5 February 2002 keralamonitor.com
An Amnesty International delegation has been given permission to
tour two detention centres in New Jersey believed to house most
of the non-US nationals detained for immigration violations in
the post September 11 sweeps.Passaic County Jail and the Hudson County Correctional
Facility are run by the local county, but have contracts with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to house INS
detainees. Amnesty International delegates will tour the
facilities on 6 February and will interview a number of detainees
(mainly Muslim men from the Middle-East or South Asia) in private.Permission to visit the facilities was granted following
a request for access made by the organization early last month.
Regrettably, a similar request to visit the federal Metropolitan
Detention Centre (MDC) in New York City -- where more than 40 INS
detainees are reported to be held in harsh conditions in sealed,
high security cells -- has been stonewalled by the authorities.There have been alarming reports of conditions in MDC,
with some detainees allegedly held for months in solitary
confinement with little or no exercise; sleep disturbed by
24-hour lighting in cells; and restrictions on phone calls to
relatives and attorneys. "These conditions are particularly
disturbing as the detainees have not been charged with a criminal
offence and many are reportedly detained for minor visa
violations for which they would not ordinarily be held in
custody," Amnesty International said."If the authorities have nothing to hide, they should
open up the facility to outside scrutiny, including by human
rights groups," the organization added, noting that INS Detention
Standards specifically state that INS facilities shall allow
visits from outside bodies, including interested non-governmental
organizations. Under these same standards, facilities housing INS
detainees are requested to permit NGOs access to "non-classified
and non-confidential information about their operation"."We would be very concerned if the physical conditions in
a detention facility are considered to be classified," Amnesty
International said, calling for the authorities to reconsider its
request for access.Amnesty International's request to visit the three
detention centers is part of an ongoing probe by the organization
into the treatment of post-September 11 detainees. There has been
wide concern at the secrecy surrounding the arrest of more than
1,200 people since the 11 September attacks, many of whom were
apparently held incommunicado in the early stages of arrest. Of
those arrested, around 100 have been charged with criminal
offences (none directly relating to the 11 September attacks)
and 460 people are reported to remain in INS custody for alleged
visa or other immigration violations. Even now the government
has refused to provide details on the INS detainees, even to
groups providing pro-bono legal assistance to immigration
detainees.Lawyers can get access only if they already have a name
or have been retained by the detainee's family, and even then
some have experienced delays in locating their clients. According
to reports, many detainees continue to be held pending
"clearance" by the FBI long after being granted bail by an
Immigration Judge, or after agreeing to "Voluntary Departure"
from the USA."We shall be raising these and other issues with
officials, as well as viewing conditions in the jails -- where
there have been claims of overcrowding, inadequate food and
medical care," Amnesty International said. "There is also concern
that immigration detainees held for minor violations may be
housed with criminal detainees, and that some detainees picked up
in the 11 September sweeps may have been physically or verbally
abused."Amnesty International said it would shortly be issuing a
report of its findings - based on the visits and interviews with
attorneys, former detainees and others.
Amnesty International submitted its request to visit MDC on 11
January. The request was referred by the INS to the Federal
Bureau of Prisons which then advised Amnesty International to
contact the prison direct. The organization complied with their
request to submit the names of detainees delegates wanted to
visit, but all the organization has been told so far is that a
written reply has been mailed to its International Secretariat --
which has not yet been received.
