By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -In response to the beating by police of a suspected thief, the Supreme Court directed that all provincial administrations form committees and create a report by March 11 to indicate the degree and extent of police torture of citizens in all regions. Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, ordered the Punjab police chief to take stern action against the cops involved in the torture of people at the police stations.

The Supreme Court’s mandate is the result of five police officials in the Pakistani province of Punjabm, who whipped and beat a citizen who was suspected of stealing rice. The man was one of four suspected in the incident. The officials were arrested after footage was released and then aired on a widely broadcasted network of national TV channels, and showed the officers severely whipping the man accused of stealing rice. The footage shows one policeman holding the legs of a victim, while another stands on his hands.

Infuriated human rights activists claim that the incident highlights a common practice by Pakistani police, who have a long-standing reputation for brutality and torture. Those who have spoken out condemning the incident worry that despite government efforts, the acts will continue to occur. Asma Jahangir, head of the influential Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, called the actions of this event “barbaric,” and advocated for harsh punishments for those involved.

Inspector General of Police, Punjab Tariq Saleem Dogar, said in a press release that every police officer would be taken across the board and not a minor act of the accused officer would be tolerated. Dogar commended the response of the media, he stated that “[I] come to know many incidents through media,” and in this incident, the media was a critical role in creating awareness about criminal acts directed toward the general public. 

In discussing the event, Dogar said that the acts of barbarity and inhuman torture by police were the result of absence of a proper system of accountability in the Police Department, lack of supervision by senior officers and weaknesses at police station level.

Punjab’s law minister, Rana Sanaullah, assured Pakistanis in an interview with Dunya television, that appropriate legal action was being taken, and that the officers “will not remain in the police force.”

For more information, please see:

BBC World News – Police filmed beating robbery suspects – 5 March, 2010

Daily Times – ‘Law of the jungle’ prevalent in country, says CJP – 5 March 2010

Pakistan Times –SC directs for submission of report in Chiniot police torture case – 5 March 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– A firing squad publically executed a North Korean factory worker for making a phone call to a friend in South Korea using an illegal mobile phone.

Although South Korea’s Unification Ministry stated that they could not immediately confirm the execution, the execution is said to have taken place back in late January in the North’s eastern coastal city of Hamhung.

The executed factory worker was accused of recounting rice price and other information concerning the current living conditions in North Korea to a friend who defected to South Korea several years ago.

Despite the introduction of an advanced network partnered with Cairo-based Orascom Telecom back in 2008, North Korea maintains tight restrictions on mobile phone uses.

Most North Koreans who do manage to make international phone calls do so by using networks in neighboring China.

There is an estimated 10,000 North Koreans living by the North Korea-China border who possess Chinese mobile phones, which is illegal.

North Korea has launched a crackdown in February on potential defectors and those who use Chinese mobile phones, a measure which made it harder for North Koreans to make calls abroad asking for help in terms of sneaking out of the country.

North Korea’s Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security announced over a government-run television network that “[North Korea] possess[es] a world-class striking force and means to protect our security that have not yet been…made public” and that Pyongyang has the means to crush “reactionary forces.”

The joint statement by the Ministries also said that the main focus of the crackdown on defectors is so that “people [are] educated about the traitors to the nation,” adding that the defectors will be “mercilessly dealt with.”

North Korea is reportedly to have purchased expensive cell phone tracking and jamming devices and have installed the equipment in various cities like Shinuiju, Heysan and Hweryong, which all lie near the North Korea-China or North-South Korea borders.

The defector who received the North Korean factory worker’s phone call in South Korea may have been working for the South Korean government.

For more information, please see:

Eurasia Review – North Korea Cracks Down on Mobile Phones – 20 February 2010

The Press Associated – Korean executed for ‘illegal’ phone – 4 March 2010

Toronto Star – N. Korean man executed for cell phone call – 4 March 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – The US recently released a statement divulging a definite plan to relinquish its absolute military control over the Bagram air-base.  Although both Afghan and US officials acknowledge that the process will entail some convoluted technicalities, there seems to be a mutual promise of greater transparency and humane practices regarding the treatment of inmates.  The US’s designs to give up full control of Bagram over seems to be part fulfillment of the Obama administration’s statement made in the late months of 2009 regarding openness in procedures in the miltary prison.

Both the US and Afghanistan agree that the US will retain some degree of functioning in the operation of Bagram, but the prison will be ultimately under the rule of Afghanistan.  Both governments aspire to create a situation in which Afghanistan can fully oversee Bagram’s operations by January 2011.

Bagram air-base currently holds approximately 750 inmates, about 30 among them being foreign nationals.  The prison was also significantly renovated in the 2009, expanded to accommodate over 1,100 inmates and a larger military presence within the walls of the complex itself.  The Obama administration’s promise of greater transparency regarding the treatment of inmates was delivered soon after the completion of the Bagram renovation project.

Although the Afghan government’s control over the air-base turned prison could signify a progressive step towards more humane practices, Bagram’s notoriety could continue to attract criticism and the scrutiny of the international community.  The prison has drawn inevitable comparisons to Guantanamo Bay, and human rights groups have even stated that the conditions and treatment of prisoners in Bagram is actually worse.  Prisoners have actually complained that they have been afforded less civil rights than the inmates in Guantanamo.

Numerous investigations into the conditions and practices and Bagram have been conducted to confirm the mistreatment of inmates.  Many of the inmates were taken from nations surrounding Afghanistan and transported to the prison without knowing the reason for their detention.  Also, in 2002, two inmates died in Bagram and investigations revealed that they had been subject to sleep deprivation and severe beatings.  Other rights violations in the prison include the confirmed detention of inmates under the age of sixteen, subject to the same harsh treatment as all other inmates.

The Afghan control over Bagram could be an opportunity to protect the rights of prisoners and maintain a more transparent mode of operations within the facility.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – US unveils Bagram handover plan – 27 February 2010

Current.com – US Signs Agreement to Hand Over Bagram Military Prison to Afghanistan – 11 January 2010

Xinhua – US to hand over detention center to Afghan gov’t – 11 January 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

UTTAR PRADESH, India- At least 63 people have died in a stampede after the gate of a Hindu temple collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police say.  Dozens were also injured in the panic that in ensued at the temple in Pratapgarh district, 400 miles southeast of Delhi.  Police say that so far all of the dead identified are women and children.  The temple gate was still being built.  Hundreds of people have been killed in stampedes at crowded Indian temples in recent years.

Thursday’s incident happened at a popular Ram Janaki temple in the town of Kunda in Pratapgarh district, about 15 miles north of the city of Allahabad.  The owner of the temple is Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj, a Hindu holy man, who was marking the anniversary of the death of his wife with ritual feast, police say.

A large number of people had gathered for the ceremonial feast and clothing hand-out.  The stampede occurred when people rushed to collect the offerings being handed out.  Local journalists stated that those in the stampeded were mostly poor people from local villages.

According to police officials, an iron gate leading to the temple collapsed, which lead to a crowd surge.  From the scene of the disaster, assistant superintendent police SP Pathak told the AFP news agency “We have now counted all the bodies and they include 37 children and 26 women who had come to collect free gifts.”

Emergency teams and ambulances rushed to the site , some from neighboring districts and the injured have been taken to hospitals.

Hundreds gathered at local hospitals to receive news of their relatives.  38-year-old Gudal,whose seven-year-old- daughter died in the stampede, told the AP news agency “She had just wandered in to see what was happening.”

Government officials say it appears the organizers of the event were unprepared to deal with the size of the crowd.  Eyewitnesses state that it took some time for help to arrive on the scene.  This was not an isolated incident, with many similar accidents where large numbers of people congregate in an area that is unable to handle big gatherings.

In 2008, about 300 people were killed in stampedes.