Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young man was seriously tortured by the police of City Bhalwal, Sargodha, Punjab Province, and was forced to confess to the murder of a 14-year-old student. The victim was kept blind folded in solitary confinement where he was tortured. As he would not comply with the demands of the police they threatened to kill him in a police encounter. The victim wrote a confessional statement before the police based on the dictation of Moulvi Saeed, the head of a Madressa, (Islamic Seminary) It is also alleged that the Secretary of the RTA (Road Transport Authority), Punjab Government, forced the police to implicate the victim in the murder case.
In the absence of a specific law against a torture in custody the police use the torture as the best method in getting a confessional statement.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The case was reported by the Star Welfare Organization Sargodha, Punjab province:
A young boy, Master Muhammad Waqas Chaddhar (14), was murdered in a madressa named Darul ul uloom, Usmania of mosque Maryanwali, Old Bhalwal City on 17 January 2012. It was his daily routine to go to the Mosque after school. On this unfortunate day he did not return to home from the madressa. The leader of the mosque and madressa (Islamic seminary), Maulvi Saeed was not available in the mosque which was locked. At the evening prayers the body of the deceased was found inside the mosque. His body was without trousers and there was a muffler around his neck. The announcements were made through the loud speakers of the mosque and the parents of the deceased identified him as Waqas Chaddhar. An autopsy was conducted and it was found he had been sodomized before being strangled with the muffler which caused his death. It is suspected that a number of people were involved in the crime.
The city police station Bhalwal a young man, Qasim Ijaz on the information of some persons including Molvi Saeed, the head of the Seminary. After three days of his illegal confinement at the private torture cell of the police. Fazal Hussain Gujjar Sub Inspector of City Bhalwal police station announced in a public gathering with jubilation that the accused Qasim Ijaz had confessed to the murder. The SHO, of the police station took the credit himself of solving the murder within just three days.
When the community came to know that the accused person Qasim Ijaz was implicated in the murder case they protested his arrest. The fact finding mission of Star Welfare Organization visited the old Bhalwal city and interviewed persons from the neighborhood of the accused. The team also visited the Shahpur prison and interviewed the accused. The neighbours told the team of the fact finding mission that the accused person, Qasim Ijaz, was watching a cricket match at the house of one of his friend Qamar Abbas with many other people. Suddenly when they heard about the murder of Muhammad Waqas they all went to the place of incident, but later on police implicated him into the murder. The elders of the community told the fact finding mission that the police have implicated him in the murder case just to hide their own incompetency, negligence and their crime. The friends of the accused person have told that the alleged murderer was an innocent who never had any quarrel with anybody. He was implicated to hide the crime of the police and the mosque leader. His sister told to the team that her brother (the accused person) was severely tortured and that no one can stand before such torture. She said that her father and uncle have handed over Qasim Ijaz to the police themselves because the police asked them to do so.
Mr Ijaz, the father of the accused person told the fact finding mission that he himself has handed over his son to the police. The police have stopped his father from entering the police station and then started beating the victim brutally in the presence of his father and uncle. The Police have also not allowed his father to meet his son during the three days of detention.
The fact finding mission learned from the victim that he had been kept blindfolded and torture during all three days of his detention. He said that at the end when he refused to confess to the murder the police told him that they had made arrangements to kill him in a police encounter. Out of fear for his life and further torture he complied with the instructions of the police and wrote the confession as dictated by Molvi Saeed.
The people of the community have demanded a judicial inquiry to be conducted into the torture of Qasim Ijaz to obtain the confessional statement. They also alleged that the secretary of the RTA (Road Transport authority), Sargodha, Punjab Province, Mr. Mehar Muhammad Hayat has used his influence as the murdered boy’s father was one of his drivers.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letter to the authorities, giving blow, calling them to conduct the inquiry into the torture of a young man by Police of City Bhalwal for getting confessional statement of the murder of 14 years old boy. Please urge them to prosecute the Station House Officer (SHO) Fazal Hussain Gujjar and other police officials of police station City Bhawal for keeping a person in an illegal detention and conducting torture. And also arrest Moulvi Saeed the head of the Marianwali mosque and Madressa.
The AHRC writes a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment calling for his intervention into this matter.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: Police tortured a young man in custody for extracting confessional statement on murder of a boy
Name of victims:
1. Mr. Waqas
2. Mr. Qasim Ijaz
Both are residents of old Bhalwal city, Sargodha, Punjab province
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Sub- inspector, Fazal Hussain Gujjar, Station House Officer (S.H.O), City Police Station, Bhalwal, Punjab province
2. Moulvi Saeed, Head of the Madressa Darul uloom, Usmania, old Bhalwal city, Sargodha, Punjab province
Date of incident: Old Bhalwal City, Dist Sargodha, Punjab province
Place of incident: 17 January 2012
I am writing to voice my deep regarding the fabricated charges, illegal detention and custodial torture by Bhalowal City police of young man who was forced to write a confessional statement under threat of death. He was wrongly accused of the murder of a 14-year-old friend who was found dead at the gate of a mosque, masjid Chadhranwali, Old Bhalowal, Sargodha.
It was very shocking for me that Pakistan has ratified International covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Convention against torture (CAT) but still the law against custodial torture has not been made according to the International norms. The police still continued to obtain confessional statements by the use of torture and illegal detention. Yet, to-date, no action has been taken against the police by the judiciary or any other authorities
I was informed that a young boy, Master Muhammad Waqas Chaddhar, (14), was murdered in a madressa Darul ul uloom, Farooqia of the mosque Maryanwali, Old Bhalwal, City on 17 January, 2012. It was his daily routine to go to the Mosque after school. On this unfortunate day he did not return home from the madressa. The leader of the mosque and madressa (Islamic seminary), Maulvi Saeed was also not available in the mosque which was locked. At the evening prayers the body of the deceased was found inside the mosque, his body was without trousers and there was a muffler around his neck. Announcements were made through the loud speakers of the mosque and the parents of the deceased identified him as Waqas Chaddhar. An autopsy was conducted and it was found that Waqas had been sodomized and then strangled with the muffler which caused his death. It is suspected that a number of people were involved in the crime.
The police, true to form, picked up a young man, Qasim Ijaz on the information of some persons including the Molvi Saeed, the head of the Seminary, and forced him to confess to the murder. Ijaz was held in illegal confinement in a private torture cell of the police. Fazal Hussain Gujjar Sub Inspector of City Bhalwal police station announced in a public gathering with jubilation that the accused Qasim Ijaz had confessed to the murder. The SHO, of the police station took the credit himself of solving the murder within just three days.
I was also informed that when the community came to know that the accused person Qasim Ijaz was implicated in the murder case they protested his arrest. The fact finding mission of the Star Welfare Organization visited the old Bhalwal city and interviewed persons from the neighborhood of the accused. The team also visited the Shahpur prison and interviewed the accused. The neighbours told the team of the fact finding mission that the accused person, Qasim Ijaz, was watching a cricket match at the house of one of his friend Qamar Abbas with many other people. Suddenly when they heard about the murder of Muhammad Waqas they all went to the place of incident, but later on police implicated him into the murder. The elders of the community told the fact finding mission that the police have implicated him in the murder case just to hide their own incompetency, negligence and their crime. The friends of the accused person have told that the alleged murderer was an innocent who never had any quarrel with anybody. He was implicated to hide the crime of the police and the mosque leader. His sister told to the team that her brother (the accused person) was severely tortured and that no one can stand before such torture. She said that her father and uncle have handed over Qasim Ijaz to the police themselves because the police asked them to do so.
Mr Ijaz, the father of the accused person told the fact finding mission that he himself has handed over his son to the police. The police have stopped his father from entering the police station and then started beating the victim brutally in the presence of his father and uncle. The Police have also not allowed his father to meet his son during the three days of detention.
The fact finding mission learned from the victim that he had been kept blindfolded and torture during all three days of his detention. He said that at the end when he refused to confess to the murder the police told him that they had made arrangements to kill him in a police encounter. Out of fear for his life and further torture he complied with the instructions of the police and wrote the confession as dictated by Molvi Saeed.
The people of the community have demanded a judicial inquiry to be conducted into the torture of Qasim Ijaz to obtain the confessional statement. They also alleged that the secretary of the RTA (Road Transport authority), Sargodha, Punjab Province, Mr. Mehar Muhammad Hayat has used his influence as the murdered boy’s father was one of his drivers.
I therefore urge you to conduct the inquiry into the torture of a young man by the police of City Bhalwal for getting a confessional statement for the murder of a 14-year-old boy. I also urge you to prosecute the Station House Officer (SHO) Fazal Hussain Gujjar and other police officials of police station City Bhawal for keeping a person in illegal detention and conducting torture. I also request you to arrest Moulvi Saeed the head of the Marianwali mosque and Madressa.
It is due to the negligence of the Government that it has still not trained the police in the use of forensic evidence in investigations. It is the Government's responsibility to stamp out torture in custody which is taken by the Police as the best method of investigation. The Government should criminalise torture and make a specific law against torture in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9204801-9214171
Fax +92 51 9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk
2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk or pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk
3. Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9204108
Email: sarfraz_yousuf@yahoo.com
4. Mr. Lateef Khosa
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99203044
Email: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk
5. Mr. Justice Sh. Azmat Saeed
Chief Justice of Punjab Province
Lahore High Court,
Shahra-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore - Pakistan
Phone: +92 42 99212951-66
Fax: +92 42 99212279
email: webmasterlhc@lhc.gov.pk
6. Mr. Shahbaz Shareef
Chief Minister
Government of Punjab Province
Chief Minister Secretariat
5-Club Road
GOR-I, Lahore, Punnjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99205065
Email: cmcomplaintcell@cmpunjab.gov.pk
7. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
