: Illegal Detention Of Citizens In Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu And Kashmir

Reference: pfp/09/281

Date: 07/12/2009

The Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muzaffarabad, Subject: Illegal detention of citizens in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Dear Sir I wish to draw your kind attention towards an appalling incident happened in the jurisdiction of Azad Jammu and Kashmir which has caused deep antipathy among the people of the region, who feel insecure after the illegal detention of four citizens from the capital city - Muzaffarabad. As per details Mr. Faizan Butt, Mr. Shahid Qayum, Mr. Ali Rathore and Mr. Shafiq Butt were allegedly kidnapped by staff of security agencies in Muzaffarabad on November 21, 2009. One of them has been released after many days of mental and physical torture and inhuman treatment; however, the remaining three are still under any secret location. The Family members of abductees insist that the police have refused to lodge FIR regarding the incident. The PFP is concerned on unlawful detention of these Kashmiri citizens by the state agencies. It categorically condemns this occurrence and considers this happening is an open assault on human rights and civil liberties guaranteed by national and international laws. Press for Peace (PFP) believes that this illegal arrest is gross violations of Universal Charter of Human Right’s Articles: 2,5,6,8 and 10, which explicitly state that:

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Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

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No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

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Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

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Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Similarly, I would like to remind you the recent illegal arrest of four people is also against the Constitution of Pakistan. The articles 9 and 10, Chapter 1 under Fundamental Rights evidently say that: . (1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest, nor shall he be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. (2) 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, excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the nearest magistrate, and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate. PFP believes that this incident is also contrary to the basic human rights guaranteed in the Interim Constitution of State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. PFP demands that illegally detained citizens must be released without any delay and the concerned authorities must be brought to the justice. The PFP demands that the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir must take notice of such kind of occurrences where blameless people have illegally been detained by the state organs. We believe that such kinds of tactics are creating crossness among the inhabitants that the state has failed to protect the lives of its citizens which is considered the core obligation of the government. You are requested to take solemn and urgent notice of such gross human rights violations in order to provide the justice to the victims of state torture. Looking forward to your kind and prompt reply

Zafar Iqbal Executive Director Press for Peace (PFP) Bank Road, Muzaffarabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Email:[email protected] Ph:0092 301-5710575 www.pressforpeace.org.uk Copy: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Lahore Human Rights Watch, New York Amnesty International Secretariat, London Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, The Freedom House, Washington D.C.