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 Stop Attacks on Civil Society in Pakistan
Alert Issued: November 5, 2007
UPDATE: On November 16, 2007 the Pakistani authorities lifted the house arrest order against Asma Jahangir. Nonetheless, thousands of other activists and political opponents remain in detention or under house arrest and we are continuing to call for their release.
On November 3, the President and Armed Forces Chief of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, suspended the constitution and placed members of the Supreme Court under house arrest when they refused to endorse his actions.
Although government officials cited the threat posed by terrorists and radicals, most of the thousands arrested since then are members of the opposition, judiciary, and human rights groups.
Asma Jahangir, recipient of the 1999 Human Rights Award from Human Rights First, was immediately placed under house arrest after a detention order cited "credible information that [she] will deliver inflammatory speeches for instigating the general public."
On November 4, 55 leading human right activists were arrested while meeting at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a non-government organization in Lahore.
On November 5, thousands of lawyers in Lahore took to the streets to protest emergency rule. Police violently disbursed the protest using clubs and tear-gas, arresting hundreds of people.
A detention order has also reportedly been issued for Hina Jilani, Jahangir’s sister and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Human Rights Defenders, who was out of the country when emergency rule was imposed.
Please call on President Musharraf to:
- immediately revoke Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 2007 and restore all the rights and freedoms provided in the Constitution
- reinstate the Supreme Court
- release from detention and house arrest all of those detained, and cancel the detention order of Hina Jilani
Tell Me More
Human Rights First Press Release: November 4, 2007
"Assault on the Legal Profession No Answer to the Threat of Terrorism"
Human Rights First Condemns Pakistan's State of Emergency
Pakistani President and Chief of the Armed Forces, General Pervez Musharraf, announced the imposition of a state of emergency on November 3. With immediate effect, the President suspended the Pakistani Constitution, dismissed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, and placed him and other members of the Supreme Court under house arrest when they refused to support the move, and announced stringent new restrictions on the media.
Among the reported 1,500 members of the opposition, judiciary and military targeted for arrest and detention, are several leading lawyers imprisoned under 30 day preventive detention orders. The detainees include the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan and two former presidents, Muneer Malik and Tariq Mahmoud. Other leading lawyers, including heads of bar associations, have gone into hiding to avoid detention.
Many other public figures, including political leaders and activists have been placed under house arrest, among them the prominent lawyer and human rights activist, Asma Jahangir, who is a previous recipient of the Human Rights First Human Rights Award and the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. Her detention order described her activities as "prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order" and cited "credible information that you will deliver inflammatory speeches for instigating the general public."
Executive Director of Human Rights First, Maureen Byrnes, commented: "An assault on the legal profession and on non-violent critics in the media is no answer to the threat of terrorism and extremism in Pakistan or anywhere else. President Musharraf should immediately restore the basic rights and freedoms upheld in the Constitution, reinstate the Supreme Court and release from detention and house arrest all those subject to detention orders since the declaration of the state of emergency."
President Musharraf's declaration of emergency powers contained many overt criticisms of the judiciary, accusing judges of "overstepping limits of judicial authority." The announcement came at a time when the Supreme Court was about to rule on the legality of President's Musharraf's re-election last month, when he stood while also serving as the head of Pakistan's armed forces. It was widely predicted that the court's ruling would go against the President, who had tried to remove the Chief Justice from office earlier this year. At that time, widespread protests led by the Pakistani legal profession resulted in the Chief Justice remaining in office.
President Musharraf justified his action by describing it as a necessary measure against instability and the mounting threat of terrorism. In a statement from Lahore, Asma Jahangir commented: "Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires."
"Arresting lawyers and judges will make Pakistan's crisis worse," said Byrnes. "Pakistan needs an immediate return to the rule of law, not an attack on the independence of the judiciary."
Sample Letter
Dear General Musharraf,
I am writing to convey my grave concern about Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 2007, which has effectively led to the suspension of the constitution and the arrest of thousands of members of civil society. Most of those arrested are neither extremists nor terrorists, but opposition figures, lawyers, judges, and human rights activists. I urge you to rescind the order and to immediately end the house arrest and detention in prison of all of those detained since the imposition or emergency rule.
I was particularly concerned to hear that 55 activists meeting at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan were detained on November 4, reportedly under the Maintenance of Public Order Act. They should be released from Kot Lakhpat Jail immediately and allowed to return home without restrictions on their freedom.
As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pakistan has committed itself to uphold international human rights norms, including freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. I urge you to release those recently detained or held under house arrest, including members of the Supreme Court and Asma Jahangir, Iqbal Haider, and I.A. Rehman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Lawyers, judges, and human rights activists all play a role in ensuring the rule of law essential to the long term peace and stability of any country.
I understand a detention order has also been issued for a leading international human rights lawyer, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Human Rights Defenders. The detention of Hina Jilani, who is tasked with promoting the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, would be an especially direct attack on the ability of human rights defenders to carry out their work, and I urge you to rescind the order immediately. |
