Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an Indian prisoner was tortured to death by officials of the Kot Lakhpat prison of Lahore, Punjab. He was inhumanely beaten to death for committing the ‘crime’ of washing his clothes at a public tap at the courtyard of the jail. The jail authorities are trying to hide the cause of death and did not request the hospital authorities to conduct an autopsy for almost two months. Even after the autopsy the report has still not been presented. The victim was nearing the end of his sentence of five years but was murdered due to anti Indian sentiments.
The High Court of the province refused to entertain a petition for the inquiry into the mysterious death of the prisoner on the pathetic argument that the lawyer did not have power of attorney from the victim’s family (who are in India). This is contradictory to the fact that the higher courts take Sou Moto actions on political cases without obtaining ‘power of attorney’ to gain popularity in the media.
CASE NARRATIVE: (The information was collected from Mr. Awais Shiekh, the lawyer appearing on behalf of the victim, following reports published in the Daily Express Tribune).
Chamail Singh, son of Salaar Singh, (48), a resident of Targwal Khalkay village, Akhnoor tehsil, in Jammu, India, was imprisoned on spying charges after a military trial sentenced him in June 2012. At the time of his death he was nearing the end of his sentence of five years due to time served. Singh was tried by a military court in Sialkot, Punjab, under section 59 of the Pakistan Army Act 1951 for spying and imprisoned in the Kot Lakhpat, jail, of Lahore, Punjab province, a famous prison where high profile prisoners are detained including politicians.
Mr. Tehseen Khan, a lawyer by profession, who was released just three days after Chamail Singh’s death, told the Express Tribune, on 18 January that he witnessed Singh’s killing. He said that that at 7:45am on 15 January Singh was washing his clothes at a tap in the jail’s courtyard when Assistant Superintendent of Jail (ASJ) Nasir Nawaz with two chakar imdadis or hawaldars, Muhammad Sidique and Muhammad Nawaz, stopped him.
The ASJ asked him “does he think the jail is his home where he can wash his clothes wherever he wants?” The officials also taunted him saying how an Indian spy enjoys himself after working against Pakistan. The agents should not have such facilities. They also used some filthy and derogatory words against Indians, Khan told the newspaper.
When Singh responded, the hawaldars started beating him on the orders of the ASJ. The ASJ himself allegedly pounded Singh with his fists. Kicks by the others drew blood from Singh’s upper lip and brow. The newspapers quoted Tehseen as saying that the three men continued to beat him for a full minute, at the end of which he was dead. The jailors then dispatched Singh’s body to the jail hospital.
In desperation to hide their crime, the jail authorities took affidavits on plain paper from eight prisoners, all Indian nationals, that his death was natural. This was done in the absence of a magistrate which is a legal requirement. According to Express Tribune (ET) the affidavits state that Singh lit a cigarette after washing his clothes and died of natural causes. Later on his body was shifted to Jinnah Hospital where it was kept for almost two months in the morgue. No autopsy was conducted and the Punjab provincial government tried to cover up the whole incident.
The autopsy of the body was finally conducted on 13 March two months after his death but the report has not yet surfaced despite the fact that it was announced that report will come out on or before 25 March. The Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) and other agencies have confirmed that Singh was tortured to death. The newspaper received the initial report from the hospital that “traces of four injuries were found on Singh’s body including a fracture in the right knee joint, an abrasion on his upper lip and injuries on his thigh.
By delaying Singh’s post-mortem report, the Kot Lakhpat prison authorities tried to hide the marks of injuries on his body caused by the beating, advocate Awais Sheikh, who works as a counsel for Indian prisoners in Pakistan, told ET.
After publication of the news in ET, the same lawyer filed a petition in the High Court of Lahore for an inquiry into the death of an Indian prisoner by torture. The High Court immediately turned downed the petition on the grounds that the lawyer does not have power of attorney from Singh’s family. This was a clear effort by the High Court to save the provincial rulers from any embracement due to the case. The provincial government of Sharif has also not taken any action to probe the incident although ET has been continuously publishing follow ups of the incident since 28 January.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Torture in custody is endemic in Pakistan as it is considered the best method to extract confessional statements, bribes and to keep the detainees under control or spread fear in the society. Due to the absence of a law against torture in the Pakistan Penal Code the law enforcement agencies get impunity through the law and courts. The courts have never punished any official on charges of torture but on other sections of the law. The courts with the nexus of the police and other law enforcement agencies have developed an official version of torture by sending the detainees on “physical custody” (which is known as police remand) for further investigation.
Though the government of Pakistan has ratified the UN Convention against torture and ill treatment in 2010 the authorities and Human Rights ministry itself is trying to delay the changes according to the UN CAT.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the following authorities calling upon them to conduct the judicial inquiry in the torture and death of an Indian prisoner in Kot Lakhpat jail, Lahore. Please urge them to 1) immediately suspend the responsible officials including the Superintendent of the prison and prosecute them on the charges of murder, negligence and maneuvering the case into natural death; 2) the family of the victim must be paid compensation for the death of Chamail Singh and 3) the home secretary of the Punjab government must also be tried for conspicuously keeping silent on the incident and hiding the case and 4)make a law against custodial torture according to the UN Convention against Torture (UN CAT). Finally, in order to restore better relations with India the government of Pakistan should apologise to India for the custodial death of their citizen.
The AHRC is writing 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.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: An Indian prisoner was tortured to death, the authorities trying to cover up the case with natural death
Name of victim:
Chamail Singh, son of Salaar Singh, 48-year-old resident of Targwal Khalkay village, Akhnoor tehsil, in Jammu, India, tortured to death in Kot Lakhpat prison, Lahore, Punjab province
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1.Superintendent of Police, Kot Lakhpat prison, Lahore, Punjab Province
2. Home Secretary, government of Punjab
3. Mr. Nasir Nawaz, Assistant Superintendent of Jail, Kot Lakhpat prison, Lahore
4. Mr. Muhammad Sidique, chakar imdadi or hawaldar, Kot Lakhpat prison, Lahore
5. Mr. Muhammad Nawaz, chakar imdadi or hawaldar, Kot Lakhpat prison, Lahore
Date of incident: 15 March 2013
Place of incident: Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, Punjab province
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the death by torture of an Indian prisoner, Mr. Chamail Singh, in jail custody whose death was subsequently covered up.
I am appalled to learn that the Kot Lakhpat authorities, led by Mr. Nasir Nawaz, Assistant Superintendent of Jail, brutally beat a prisoner to death for the ‘crime’ of washing his clothes at a tap in the prison court yard. Affidavits were taken from many other prisoners which claim that Singh died normal causes in an attempt to cover up the crime.
According to the information I have received Chamail Singh, son of Salaar Singh, (48), a resident of Targwal Khalkay village, Akhnoor tehsil, in Jammu, India, was imprisoned on spying charges after a military trial sentenced him in June 2012. At the time of his death he was nearing the end of his sentence of five years due to time served. Singh was tried by a military court in Sialkot, Punjab, under section 59 of the Pakistan Army Act 1951 for spying and imprisoned in the Kot Lakhpat, jail, of Lahore, Punjab province, a famous prison where high profile prisoners are detained including politicians.
Mr. Tehseen Khan, a lawyer by profession, who was released just three days after Chamail Singh’s death, told the Express Tribune, on 18 January that he witnessed Singh’s killing. He said that that at 7:45am on 15 January Singh was washing his clothes at a tap in the jail’s courtyard when Assistant Superintendent of Jail (ASJ) Nasir Nawaz with two chakar imdadis or hawaldars, Muhammad Sidique and Muhammad Nawaz, stopped him.
I am told that the ASJ asked him “does he think the jail is his home where he can wash his clothes wherever he wants?” The officials also taunted him saying how an Indian spy is enjoys himself after working against Pakistan. The agents do not have such facilities. They also used some filthy and derogatory words against Indians, Khan told the newspaper.
When Singh responded, the hawaldars started beating him on the orders of the ASJ. The ASJ himself allegedly pounded Singh with his fists. Kicks by the others drew blood from Singh’s upper lip and brow. The newspapers quoted Tehseen as saying that the three men continued to beat him for a full minute, at the end of which he was dead. The jailors then dispatched Singh’s body to the hospital.
In desperation to hide their crime, the jail authorities took affidavits on plain paper from eight prisoners, all Indian nationals, that his death was natural. This was done in the absence of a magistrate which is a legal requirement. According to Express Tribune (ET) the affidavits state that Singh lit a cigarette after washing his clothes and died of natural causes. Later on his body was shifted to Jinnah Hospital where it was kept for almost two months in cold storage. No autopsy was conducted and the Punjab provincial government tried to cover up the whole incident.
It is shocking that the autopsy of his body was finally conducted on 13 March two months after his death but the report has yet not surfaced despite the fact that it was announced that report will come out on or before 25 March. The Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) and other agencies have confirmed that Singh was tortured to death. The newspaper received the initial report from the hospital that “traces of four injuries were found on Singh’s body including a fracture in the right knee joint, an abrasion on his upper lip and scars on his thigh.
By delaying Singh’s post-mortem report, the Kot Lakhpat prison authorities had tried to hide marks of injuries on his body caused by the beating he was given.
After publication of the news in ET, a lawyer, Mr. Awais Sheikh, filed a petition in the High Court of Lahore for an inquiry into the death of an Indian prisoner by torture. The High Court immediately turned downed the petition on the grounds that the lawyer does not have power of attorney from Singh’s family. This was a clear effort by the High Court to save the provincial rulers from any embracement due to the case. The provincial government of Sharif has also not taken any action to probe the incident although ET has been continuously publishing follow ups of the incidents since 28 January.
It is common knowledge that torture in custody is endemic in Pakistan as it is considered the best method to extract confessional statements, bribes and to keep the detainees under control or spread fear in the society. Due to the absence of a law against torture in the Pakistan Penal Code the law enforcement agencies get impunity through the law and courts. The courts have never punished any official on charges of torture but on other sections of the law. The courts with the nexus of the police and other law enforcement agencies have developed an official version of torture by sending the detainees on “physical custody” (which is known as police remand) for further investigation.
Though the government of Pakistan has ratified the UN Convention against torture and ill treatment in 2010 the authorities and Human Rights ministry itself is trying to delay the changes according to the UN CAT.For me it more than a crime the former provincial government of Sharif has not headed towards the news for the custodial death of a foreign prisoner through the inhuman methods of torture.
I urge you to conduct a judicial inquiry in the torture and death of the Indian prisoner in Kot Lakhpat jail, Lahore. I also urge you to:
1) immediately suspend the responsible officials including the Superintendent of the prison and prosecute them on the charges of murder, negligence and maneuvering the case into natural death;
2) the family of the victim must be paid compensation for the death of Chamail Singh;
3) the home secretary of the Punjab government must also be tried for conspicuously keeping silent on the incident and hiding the case, and,
4) make a law against custodial torture according to the UN Convention against Torture (UN CAT).
5) Finally, in order to restore better relations with India the government of Pakistan should apologise to India for the custodial death of their citizen.
I hope that you will take immediate action to prevent any further custodial torture.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
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. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso
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. Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99203044
Email: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk
5. Mr. Najam Sethi
Chief Minister
Government of Punjab
Province
Chief Minister
Secretariat
5-Club Road
GOR-I, Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99205065
Email: cmcomplaintcell@cmpunjab.gov.pk and najamsethi@gmail.com
6.Mr. Justice Umar Ata Bandial
Chief Justice of Punjab Province
Lahore High Court
Shahra-e-Quaid-e-Azam
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 42 99212951-66
Fax: +92 42 99212279
Email: webmasterlhc@lhc.gov.pk
7. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Email: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
8. Inspector-General of Police
Punjab Province
Police Head Office
Lahore
Punjab province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 9921006
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
