By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces are holding and torturing political activists in the Pakistani province of Balochistan in an attempt to derail the separatist movement in that region.

Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams has stated that “Pakistan’s security forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ‘disappear’ and in many cases are executed…the national government has done little to end the carnage in Balochistan, calling into question its willingness or ability to control the military and intelligence agencies.”

The Pakistani government has cracked down on the separatist movement in Balochistan since 2004 when rebels emerged to demand autonomy and a share of the profits from the region’s oil, gas and mineral sources. As a result, those who “disappear” are generally Baloch nationalist activists or suspected Baloch militants.

In a 132 page report by Human Rights Watch, “We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years: Enforced disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan”, it is stated that the government is responsible for most of the abductions and detainees are rarely, if ever, charged with any crime.

The report is comprised of over 100 interviews with former detainees, witnesses, lawyers, family of the “disappeared” and local human rights activists.

While the exact number of enforced disappearances is unknown Human Rights Watch reported that in 2008 Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at least 1,000 victims had disappeared in Balochistan. There is increasing evidence to suggest that many of those who have disappeared have suffered extrajudicial execution while in the custody of the government.

One former detainee, Mazhar Khan, described his abduction from a friend’s home in 2009 when armed men stormed into the home blindfolded both men and drove them to separate locations. Khan was questioned about the Baloch party and then held alone in a dark room for two months before being released on the side of a road. The fate of his friend is still unknown.

Another former detainee, Bashir Azeem, was detained on three separate occasions between 2005 and 2009.  He states that on one occasion his abductors “pushed pins under my nails, put a chair on my back and sat on top of it, and put me for 48 hours into a room where I could only stand but not move. When they took me out, my legs were so swollen that I collapsed on the floor and fainted.”

In some cases witnesses alleged that the detainers wore the same uniformed donned by members of various Pakistani intelligence agencies.  The arresting agency never identified themselves or informed the detainee of the basis for their arrest. Often, the abductors would beat, handcuff, blindfold and then drag the detainee into a vehicle before taking them to an unknown location. In each and every case investigated by Human Rights Watch, detainees who were released and their relatives reported torture and ill treatment while detained. Torture often included beatings with sticks or leather belts, hanging detainees upside down and prolonged sleep and food deprivation.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Pakistan Accused Over Separatists who ‘Disappear’ – 28 July 2011

BBC News – Pakistan Torturing Balochistan Activists, Report Says – 28 July 2011

Human Rights watch – Pakistan: Security Forces ‘Disappear’ Opponents in Balochistan – 28 July 2011

MSNBC – HRW: ‘Disappeared’ Still Haunt Pakistani Province – 28 July 2011

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China — In a statement released on the 27th of July by a human rights group based in China (HRIC), a call for a “full and transparent investigation” for the July 18th violence that rocked the city of Hotan in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was made.

HRIC’s statement follows nine days of inconsistent reports detailing the nature of the incident. Officials initially placed the death toll at “at least 4.” However, China’s state media later reported that Chinese security forces had since raised the figure to 18. Official government sources and state media maintain that the violence occurred when a group of ethnic minority Uyghurs attacked a local police station. Official sources have alternatively referred to the alleged attackers as “Thugs,” perpetrators of an “organized terrorist attack,” “rioters,” “separatists” and “religious extremists.”

The latest official report was released on July 26 in a statement by the Chinese embassy in Turkey. The embassy put the number of attackers at 18. The embassy further alleged that the 18 were “radical religious fundamentalist and violent terrorists” armed with Molotov cocktails, knives and axes.

According to the embassy, one police officer and a few hostages were killed in the attack. China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that police gunned down 14 attackers.

World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a Uyghur exile group based in Germany, tells an entirely different story.

WUC claims that security forces beat 14 people to death and gunned down six others. WUC further suggests that the incident did not take place at the police station, but at a nearby Bazaar where Uyghurs had peacefully gathered to demand the release of previously detained family members. WUC reports that at least 70 people have been detained since the violence began. WUC claims to possess several eye-witness accounts of the incident. This claim is a key factor behind HRIC’s call for a full independent investigation.

The Uyghur population has long chafed under restrictions on their religion and other rights. However, tensions between Xinjiang’s Uyghur ethnic minority and China’s ethnic Han majority have grown markedly strained in recent years.

Xinjiang is currently experiencing significant ethnic Han migration and a coordinated effort by the Chinese government to develop the region’s rich oil and natural gas reserves, which are seen as crucial to China’s economic development.

Was the violence in Hotan an organized terrorist attack, a riot, or a peaceful protest turned violent at the hands of government security forces? With heavy domestic censorship and a foreign media blackout, it is hard to tell, many argue that China’s lack of transparency and consistency in its accounts of the 18 July event do not aid beneficial dialogue.

For more information please see:

Today’s Zaman – China criticiszes press coverage of Hotan incidents – 29 July 2011

World Uyghur Congress – Uyghurs to Stage Demonstration in Vienna to Protest Hotan Incident – 28 July 2011

HRIC – HRIC Calls for Full and Transparent Investigation of July 18 Incident in Hotan – 27 July 2011

Voice of America – Details of Alleged Xinjiang ‘Terrorist Attack’ Still Sketchy – 27 July 2011

China Daily – 14 rioters shot down in Xinjiang attack – 20 July 2011

Global Times – Hotan on high alert after attack – 20 July 2011

Guardian – China raises Xinjiang police station death toll to 18 – 20 July 2011

BBC – Xinjiang police attack was terrorism, China says – 19 July 2011

Sunday Times – China blames ‘terrorists’ for attack in Xinjiang: report – 19 July 2011

Yahoo News – Clash in China’s Xinjiang killed 20: exile group – 19 July 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – New Chinese internet regulations will require bars, restaurants, and bookstores that offer internet access (Wi-Fi) throughout the country to install new web monitoring software reports the New York Times. The software, which costs approximately 3,100 (USD), allows security officials to access the identities of internet users in public places.

The software will also give officials the ability to know what the internet user is viewing. Business owners who fail to abide by the new regulations may be subject to a 23,000 dollar fine and the lost of their business license.

China already has some of the strictest internet regulations in the world. When the Apple “iphone” was first released in China, Wi-Fi capabilities had to be disabled in order to be legally sold in the country. Since then Apple has modified its products to meet the specifications set forth by the government reports the Wall Street Journal.

Last year, the government blocked more than one million websites from viewers. While many of the websites were pornographic, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were also blocked reports the New York Times.

Although the new regulations do not directly decrease the availability of the internet to Chinese citizens, many people are concerned. “From the point of view of the common people, this policy is unfair,” said Wang Bo, the owner of L’Infusion, a cafe that features crepes, waffles, and Wi-Fi. Wang Fang, 28, an advertising sales agent explained “To be honest, I can get internet at home or at work, but it’s nice to just sit in a comfortable place and surf the Web.”

Business owners who rely on Wi-Fi to attract customers are concerned about the costs associated with the new regulations. A manager of a local café called Kubrick told the New York Times that it unplugged its router earlier in the month to avoid paying for the software. However, the manager explained that the loss of Wi-Fi has led to a thirty percent decrease in business because people do not have a reason to come anymore.

Another bookstore owner told the New York Times she unplugged her router because she refuses to play a role in the government monitoring what citizens view on the internet. Ray Heng, the owner of a Mexican restaurant, told the New York Times that he feels the government should foot the bill for the new software if it is so concerned about monitoring the internet.

The Dongcheng Public Security Bureau has not commented on the new regulations, but according to its publicly issued circular, the measure is designed to frustrate criminals who use the Internet to “conduct blackmail, traffic goods, gamble, propagate damaging information and spread computer viruses” reports the New York Times.

China has vigorously defended its position on internet regulations in the past. In fact, China has responded to U.S. criticisms over internet monitoring by stating the U.S. acts in the exact same manner under the Patriot Act.

For more information, please see:

Sydney Morning Herald — Officials in China to monitor public Wi-Fi use – 28 July 2011

New York Times — China Steps Up Web Monitoring, Driving Many Wi-Fi Users Away – 25 July 2011

Wall Street Journal — Apple Eyes Bigger Slice of Chinese Market – 19 July 2011

BBC — China tightens internet censorship control — 4 May 2011

China Daily — Google’s excuse about censorship unacceptable, netizens say – 22 March 2010

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Twelve Indonesians who played a role in a mob attack that killed three members of a minority Muslim sect were sentenced to serve light sentences ranging from three to six months.

The attack occurred on February 6 when a mob of people armed with knives and stones attacked about 25 Ahmadiyah members. The attack was caused by the mob’s opposition to the presence of the sect, which many Muslims consider to be heretical in their beliefs, and they demanded that they end their activities.

During the trial of the twelve attackers, victims of the attack were not permitted to testify against their attackers. One victim, Ahmad, expressed his anger by stating, “Seeing their sadistic behavior toward us, chopping up bodies, kicking, hitting and stabbing us. Some of them (victims) were even burned. We didn’t get call. They only called defense witnesses.”

Video footage of the attack showed a crowed of approximately 1,500 people attacking a handful of members of Ahmadiyah with clubs, rocks and machetes. Attackers were also seen stabbing and beating the bodies of the dead as they lay in the street. The video also revealed the presence of police officers who refused to take any action against the attackers as they beat and mutilated Ahmadis.

While various charges were brought against the attackers, none of them were charged with murder and while the most serious crime that the attackers were charged with allowed a maximum penalty of nine years, the prosecutors only demanded a maximum sentence of seven months.

One of the attackers, Dani bin Misra,  who was caught on video smashing in the skull of one of the victims with a rock was sentenced to only three months in jail for public incitement, destruction of property and an attack that led to death.

Another attacker, Idris bin Mahdani only received a five and a half month sentence for illegal possession of a sharp weapon and involvement in the attack despite the fact that he was the individual who led the mob to the home where the followers of the sect were gathering.

While Indonesia has generally been regarded as a religiously tolerant nation, in recent years extremists have become increasingly vocal in their views.

The Indonesian government issued a ministerial decree in 2008 that prohibited the sect from spreading its beliefs. This decree has led to attacks on sect followers by individuals who take the law into their own hands.

Human Rights Watch has called on Indonesia to revoke the 2008 decree and has called the light sentences given to the twelve attackers a “setback for religious freedom in Indonesia.”

For more information, please see:

The Jakarta Post – Muhammadiyah Chairman ‘Hurt’ by Cikeusik Punishment – 29 July 2011

MSNBC – No Justice for Victims of Islamic Sect Attack – 29 July 2011

CNN – Indonesia Under Fire for Light Sentences in Islamic Sect Attack – 28 July 2011

The New York Times – Rights Advocates Criticize Light Sentences in Sectarian Killings in Indonesia – 28 July 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia –The Malaysian government is detaining six members of the opposition political party, Parti Sosialis Malaysia which is legally recognized in Malaysia, without charge under Malaysia’s preventative detention laws.

The six Parti Sosialis Malaysia members were pre-arrested and continue to be held under the Emergency Ordinance after allegations were made that they were the “main movers” of the pro-democracy rally that took place on July 9. The rally was organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, Bersih, to express a need and desire to reform voting laws and mend corruption in voting.

According to lawyers for the detained six members, the detainees have been held in solitary confinement and continually and aggressively interrogated. The detainees have also been blindfolded while in detention and also while in transportation to meet with their lawyers. In addition, the police have not yet made it clear whether the detainees will be permitted to attend the Habeas corpus hearing that was originally scheduled for July 22 but has been rescheduled for August 5.

Initially, the six opposition party members were charged under Section 122 of the Penal Code after being accused of preparing to wage war against the king. This allegation was based on shirts owned by the six members that had portraits of former Communist Leaders on them.

Although the six members were released on bail on July 2, they were then re-arrested under the Emergency Ordinance.

Malaysia’s Emergency Ordinance permits the police to detain, at their own discretion, any person that they find to be a threat to public order for 60 days. Under the Emergency Ordinance, the home minister is permitted to extend the detention every two years for an additional two years.

Since the six members were detained, over 520 police reports have been filed calling for the release of the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia members and the number of police reports being filed is expected to increase. Other forms of protests include candlelight vigils and the circulation of petitions calling for the release of the “PSM6”.

Family members have also filed reports to allege mistreatment of the detainees. Such allegations arise from failure to provide medical attention to those complaining of pain, refusal to provide the food necessary for certain medical conditions and forced lie detector tests.

The six Parti sosialis Malaysia members being detained are: Michaeal Jeyakumar Devaraj,  member of parliament; Sukumaran Munisamy, Central Committee member; Letchumanan Aseer Patham,  Sungai Siput branch secretary; Choo Chon Kai,  international coordinator; Sarasvathy Muthu,  national deputy chairwoman; and Sarat Babu Raman,  youth chairman.

 For more information, please see:

Voices of America –Rights Group Demands Release of Malaysian Rally Oganizers – July 21, 2011

The Malaysia Star – Counsel: PSM 6 Not Detained Over Red Links – July 21, 2011

Free Malaysia Today – 522 Police Reports and Counting – July 20, 2011

Human Rights Watch – Drop Charges against Activists Exercising Basic Rights – 20 July 2011

Free Malaysia Today – ‘PSM 6 Will be Freed if Detention is Political’ – 18 July 2011