Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that Sargodha city police have made no moves to arrest the men accused of gang raping a 16-year-old girl, and are instead supporting an illegal out of court settlement. A session judge has granted the men interim bail to preempt their arrest with little consideration for the victim. The accused are members of a powerful local political party and remain at large. The victim’s family has reported difficulties in lodging the case and securing a medical checkup. Investigating officers have told the AHRC that they don’t plan to take a DNA test from the accused men.
CASE DETAILS:
According to Miss Ruby Perveen, 16, she was kidnapped at gunpoint and gang raped by five men, some of whom had been following and taunting her for a number of days. Three of the men Mr. Qiaser Shahzad, Mr. Adeel Shahzad and Mr. Irshad (known as Shada) are the sons of a powerful landlord, who leads the local PML-Q, a political party.
Ruby reports that on 5 October the five entered her home and stole some jewelry before abducting her, drugging her with chloroform and raping her repeatedly. Her father claims that he alerted emergency services but could not get police assistance. The next day Ruby was found semi conscious at a bus stand in Shumali (North) Sargodha.
Ruby’s mother Ramzan Bibi was not able to get help from the Saddar police at first, when she tried to file a First Investigation Report (FIR) at the station on October 6. The family say that they had to ask for help from an assembly member, and registered it a day later (FIR 615/09). Yet no arrests were made, and the family later discovered that some of the accused men had applied for and been granted interim bail from Mr. Samar Hyat Gondal, the Additional Session Judge, Sargodha on 22 October. (This kind of bail is often used when a person suspects that a false case will be filed against them out of malice.)
The victim’s family and a Saddar officer told the AHRC that an FIR was not given to the judge, who simply accepted the accused men’s promise that an out of court settlement was being arranged. One perpetrator, Qaiser Shahzad, did not consider it necessary to apply for such bail, and no attempts have been made to arrest him. Officers involved have claimed that a settlement is being arranged but Ruby’s family have told the AHRC that they do not want to settle and have not been given that option anyway. Such a settlement would be illegal under Pakistan law.
Furthermore, the medical checkup for the victim was not automatically ordered, as the law requires. The family pursued the check up and DNA test themselves, which was authorised by Dr Usman Anwer, the district police officer (DPO) in Sargodha. Yet though a DNA test should also be carried out on the accused, the suspects have not been tested and police have told the AHRC that such a test is not necessary due to the upcoming settlement.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
This case clearly highlights the damage done to the rule of law and the complaints procedure, when monetary settlement becomes an acceptable response to crime. Legally in Pakistan, certain compoundable offences can be settled through the courts. Most criminal cases, including rape, cannot. No cases can legally be settled outside of the court, and police should naturally have no role in mediating them. Traditional systems of compensation, such as Diyat, are continually criticized for allowing the wealthy to go free from any crime by paying ‘blood money’ and the AHRC has documented many cases in which victims are pressured and threatened into settling cases, such as that case of Hazoor Buksh a few years ago, who had his penis severed during his torture by police, but was forced to settle his case (see: UP-045-2007).
Furthermore as the rape of a minor, this crime should have warranted extra care, responsibility and a sense of particular urgency from the judge and the local police, none of whom appear to have acted in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Pakistan in 1990. As an initial, very basic step, state protection should have been offered to the girl and her family.
This case also has a political dimension. Our reports claim that the assembly member assisting the family, Mr Sardar Kamil Jigar from the Pakistan People’s Party, has been the subject of rallies by PML-Q supporters, and a press conference, partly arranged by the local Nazim or chairman of the area, which accuse him of fabricating the case for political reasons. Journalists have complained that they have been pressured into withdrawing negative coverage of the case by PML-Q members.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below urging their immediate intervention in this case.
The AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and to the Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child calling for their intervention into this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
Re: PAKISTAN: Police refuse to arrest five men accused of gang raping a 16-year-old
Name of victim:
Miss Ruby Pervenn, 16; daughter of Mr. Abdul Sattar; resident at Chak Number 101, Shumali Sargodha, Punjab.
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Qiaser Shahzad, son of Mr. Ais Mohammad
2. Mr. Adeel Shahzad, son of Mr. Ais Mohammad
3. Mr. Irshad alias Shada, son of Mr. Ais Mohammad
all resident at Chak 101, Shumali Sargodha, Saddar Police station, Sargodha district, Punjab;
and two other unknown persons.
4. Mr. Choudhry Yaqoob, Nazim (chairman) of Union Council 121, Pind 61, Shumali Sargodha, Sargodha, Punjab.
5. Mr. Riaz Manga, Sub Inspector and Investigation Officer, Saddar police station Sargodha, Sargodha district, Punjab province.
Date of incident: 5 October, 2009.
Place of incident: Chak number 101, Shumali Sargodha, Sargodha, Punjab.
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the inaction by Saddar police regarding the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl. I am horrified to hear that officers are instead supporting an illegal out of court settlement with those accused.
According to Miss Ruby Perveen, she was kidnapped at gunpoint and gang raped by five men, some of whom had been following and taunting her for a number of days. Three of the men Mr. Qiaser Shahzad, Mr. Adeel Shahzad and Mr. Irshad (known as Shada) are the sons of a powerful landlord, who leads the local PML-Q, a political party. Her father claims that he alerted emergency services but could not get police assistance. The next day Ruby was found semi conscious at a bus stand in Shumali (North) Sargodha.
I understand that Ruby’s mother Ramzan Bibi was not able to get help from the Saddar police until she asked for the help of an assembly member, and registered FIR 615/09. Yet no arrests were made and the family later discovered that some of the accused men had applied for and been granted interim bail from Mr. Samar Hyat Gondal, the Additional Session Judge in Sargodha on 22 October. This appears to have been granted with little consideration for the victim and I have been told that the FIR was not presented to the judge, who simply accepted the accused men’s promise that an out of court settlement was being arranged. One perpetrator, Qaiser Shahzad, did not consider it necessary to apply for such bail, and no attempts have been made to arrest him.
Officers involved have claimed that a settlement is being arranged but Ruby’s family have reported that they do not want to settle and have not been given that option. Such a settlement would be clearly illegal under Pakistan law. I am shocked that it is being entertained.
Furthermore, the medical checkup for the victim was not automatically ordered, as the law requires. The family pursued the check up and DNA test themselves, which was authorised by Dr Usman Anwer, the district police officer (DPO) in Sargodha. Yet though a DNA test should also be carried out on the accused, the suspects have not been tested and police have told the AHRC that such a test is not necessary due to the upcoming settlement.
As you must be aware, immeasurable damage is done to the rule of law and the complaints procedure when monetary settlement becomes an acceptable response to crime, and when victims can be pressured and threatened into settling cases. As the rape of a minor, this crime should also have warranted extra care, responsibility and a sense of particular urgency from the judge and the local police, none of whom appear to have acted in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Pakistan in 1990.
Finally I hear that journalists have complained that they have been pressured into withdrawing negative coverage of the case by PML-Q members, which is a matter that deserves serious attention.
I urge that this case be taken swiftly through the appropriate legal channels and that protection and redress is provided for the young rape victim and her family. The first clear step would be to arrest those who she has accused of her rape, regardless of the political power they may wield. Please also ensure that the negligent officers in this case be thoroughly investigated and disciplined or charged accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
———
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1.Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk
2. Minister for Interior
R Block Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
E-mail: ministry.interior@gmail.com or interior.complaintcell@gmail.com
3. Mr. Mian Shahbaz Sharif
Chief Minister of Punjab
H-180 Model Town
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 5881383
4. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com
5. Minister of Law
Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Ravi Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
E-mail: law@punjab.gov.pk
6. Chief Secretary of Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 7324489
E-mail: chiefsecy@punjab.gov.pk
7. Mr. Salman Taseer
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
8. 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@ahrchk.org)
