PAKISTAN: Three men allegedly tortured by the police; one man tortured to death in jail

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a young man allegedly tortured to death on 3 February 2007, in the Malir central jail in Karachi, Sindh Province, Pakistan. The reason for his torture was allegedly his failure to bribe the jail officers. The victim and his two other friends had been illegally arrested by the Gadap police to extract the money. They were later booked in a false case after failing to pay the money. We were also informed that the day before the victim’s death, his family was allegedly threatened by the jail officers, that if they did not pay the bribe, they would receive the dead body of the victim. While the victim’s death was announced by the doctors due to kidney failure, the family found numerous torture marks over the victim’s body. Shockingly, despite the promise of the Sindh provincial government to suspend the responsible Superintendent of the jail (main suspect), in fact he was awarded with a new position in the Ministry of Interior of Sindh provincial government, and was transferred to another city for his new job. The AHRC calls for your immediate intervention into this matter. Please urge the Pakistan authorities to immediately inquire about this case and take strong action against the alleged perpetrators.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Ali Nawaz, 33 year old, is the son of Mr. Ali Khan. He was a construction worker resided in slum area in Khamisa Goth, Union Council 9, New Karachi town, Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan. He was illegally arrested with his friends Mr. Hidayat Ullah Rind and Mehram Warral, from the Gadap police kiosk at toll plaza, super highway Karachi, Sindh Province at around 8:00pm on 18 January 2007. They were coming back from their work. They received daily wage of Rupees 80 (USD 1.33). It is alleged that the officer in charge of the kiosk, Mr. Bori, who is the head police constable, told the three men to pay him Rs 5,000 (USD 82); otherwise they would be booked in any case. They were then allegedly kept at the kiosk for about six hours and then taken to the Gadap police station, where they were again asked to pay the money, this time Rs 10,000 (USD 165).

As the three men could not pay the requested bribe, the Gadap police allegedly booked them on the false charges of stealing telephone wires. The police also tortured them in the police station. The three men were then sent to the Malir central jail on January 26, where they were again asked to pay Rs. 20,000 (about USD 330) as bribe or they would face exemplary punishment. Mr. Ali Nawaz argued with jail officers, including Superintendent Mr. Shakir Shah, and stated that they were even not having Rs 5,000 to pay the Gadap police, otherwise they would have been released from the police station earlier. One jail police constable then began to brutally assault Mr. Ali Nawaz with his fists and kick him.

On February 2, Mr. Ali Nawaz and his two friends were supposed to be produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court of Malir. However, Mr. Ali Nawaz was not brought to the court as his friends were. The friends told Mr. Ali Nawaz’s family that he was not able to come to the court because of his severe injuries caused by torture. The family members then rushed to the jail, and Mr. Ali Nawaz’s younger brother Mr. Madad Ali was told by the on-duty jail police officer that Mr. Ali Nawaz was in severe condition. The police officer also added that if the family did not pay Rs. 20,000 today (February 2), they would receive his dead body from the jail. The policemen allegedly told the younger brother that this was the clear message from Superintendent of Jail, Mr. Shakir Shah.

In the early morning of the following day, Mr. Madad Ali received a call from the Shah Lateef town police station, and he was asked to collect the dead body of his brother Mr. Ali Nawaz from the Malir Central Prision. When the victim’s family and other people from his community reached the jail, they saw an ambulance carrying one person. However, they were not informed who was carried by the ambulance. The family waited in front of the prison for hours. In the afternoon, they were told by the jail authorities that Mr. Ali Nawaz was seriously ill, and he was transferred to the Jinnah Hospital in the morning, which is 35 kilometer from the jail. However, this contrasts with what they were told earlier in the morning. The local people and the family then went straightly to the hospital, doctors told them that the victim died of kidneys failure. However, the doctor in-charge of postmortem, Dr. Mohammad Mumtaz Siyal, refused to conduct postmortem and called the police to disperse the people.

After the local people learned about the victim’s death, they gathered around the hospital and blocked the roads for protest more than six hours. The high ranking police officers such as town police officer and the superintendent of police in the area reached at the spot, and they promised to conduct postmortem on the victim’s body. The postmortem was conducted in late hours of February 3 but the report has not been made to public.

After that, Mr. Ali Nawaz’s body was handed over to his family, who saw the severe torture marks over his body. A huge wound was seen at the victim’s left kidney, skins on both legs were scraped from several places, blood was oozing from his head, and his neck was with a large wound. Also, there were half a dozen of torture marks on the victim’s back.

The Shah Lateef Bhitai Town police initially refused to file the murder case against the responsible jail police officers on February 3. Then on February 4, more than 2,000 local people blocked the Super Highway, the main artery to up country from Karachi city, protesting against the torture and custodial death of Mr. Ali Nazaz for more than four hours.

Instead of taking action concerning the case, the Karachi city administration reportedly claimed the protest as an ethnic riot, and instructed the Gadap police and the Sohrab Goth police to disperse the protesters. The police then alleged mobilized about 50-60 armed gangsters of Karachi led by Mr. Jannat Gul, who threatened the protesters that they would fire at them if they did not disperse. However, when the number of the protesters increased, and human rights defenders and local leader of the Peoples Party, intervened into this situation, the gangsters fled from the scene.

In the afternoon of February 4, Shah Lateef police then decided to register a murder case against the Jail Superintendent of Malir Central Prison, Mr. Shakir Shah. The Sindh provincial government, facing protests all over Karachi city, also announced that it would suspend the said superintendent from February 5. However, the Superintendent Shakir Shah was reportedly awarded a new position in the Ministry of Interior of the Sindh provincial government, and he was transferred to another city for his new job. It is also reported that no First Information Report (FIR), which is the important first process to seek prosecution, has yet to be registered against the said superintendent of the Malir Central Prison. The police only filed the written complaint from the victim’s father.

It is worth to note that the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi is a notorious hospital, as the government authority often pressurizes the doctors not to conduct the postmortem of high profile cases. The case of Faraz Ahmed Naveed can be one example. 21-year-old Faraz Ahmed Naveed, the son of prominent human rights activist Baseer Naveed was abducted and killed on 8 November 2004. When his body was brought to the Jinnah Hospital by his father, the Medico-legal Officer refused to perform the post mortem without giving any clear reasons, despite Mr. Baseer’s repeated request for hours. The hospital even did not accept the body and it was kept in the hot sun for a long time (For details, please see: UA-129-2005).

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant Pakistan authorities listed below, and demand an inquiry into this case. Please also demand that a proper postmortem is conducted by the independent and competent doctor on the victim’s body. Please also urge them to take action against policemen responsible for alleged illegal arrest, detention, and torture of the three victims.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER