ISLAMABAD:
Amnesty International, the world human rights watchdog, has said that up
to 80 percent of the Jang Media Group’s distribution in print and on
the airwaves has been disrupted by media industry bodies, apparently
under the orders of the Pakistani military.
The
Pakistani authorities should immediately investigate the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), the military’s premier spy agency, over its alleged
involvement in journalist attacks, said the Amnesty International on the
third anniversary of the abduction and killing of journalist Saleem
Shahzad.
“Failure to investigate such incidents
thoroughly, impartially and transparently and to hold perpetrators
accountable fosters a culture of impunity for attacks against
independent media in Pakistan,” said David Griffiths, Asia-Pacific
Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
In an open
letter, Amnesty International and nine other human rights organisations
called on the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to fulfil his promise
to end the impunity enjoyed by individuals and groups who attack
journalists.
The nine other organisations are: Article 19
(UK), Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom
House, International News Safety Institute, Internews, Pakistan
Coalition on Media Safety, Pen International and Reporters Without
Borders.
“Saleem Shahzad’s killing was one of the worst
manifestations of the threats journalists face across Pakistan every
day. The authorities’ inability to investigate officers of the ISI
properly and bring to justice those responsible for Shahzad’s death is
unacceptable – he was abducted in broad daylight in the heart of
Islamabad, the national capital,” said David Griffiths.
“Pakistan
must immediately restart the criminal investigation into Shahzad’s
death, as has been promised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on multiple
occasions. Events of the past few weeks have again highlighted how
precarious the situation for Pakistani media is. Continued impunity will
only fuel the violence.”
Last month journalist Hamid Mir
narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Karachi. He has accused the
ISI of being responsible for the attack.
“According to
Amnesty International’s research, the ISI is the state organ most
regularly accused by journalists of carrying out harassment,
intimidation or abuse against them or their colleagues. This does not
necessarily mean that the ISI is always to blame. But if ISI officials
are innocent of the accusations they have nothing to fear from thorough
investigations and due process,” said David Griffiths.
“We
cannot determine who exactly is responsible for these high-profile
attacks against journalists until there is proper investigation. All
suspects must be presumed innocent until proven guilty and afforded a
fair trial in line with international standards.”
To
demonstrate their expressed commitment to the rule of law and respect
for human rights, Amnesty International calls on the ISI and all other
state institutions to cooperate fully with the criminal investigations
into the Shahzad, Mir and other attacks.
Saleem Shahzad,
an Asia Times Online correspondent, was abducted on 29 May 2011 in
Islamabad, and his body was found dumped two days later bearing marks of
torture. Shahzad had written articles on a range of sensitive national
security issues, including alleged al-Qaeda infiltration of the
Pakistani military and the state’s relationship with the Taliban.
Less
than a year before his death, Shahzad had told colleagues of an alleged
death threat from the ISI. The Pakistani government in 2011 set up a
high-level investigation into his death but key evidence mysteriously
disappeared and no one has yet been brought to justice.
At
least 34 journalists have been killed in relation to their work in
Pakistan since the restoration of democracy in 2008, but in only one
case during this period have the perpetrators been brought to justice.
In
a report released last month, Amnesty International documented how
media workers in Pakistan live under the constant threat of harassment,
violence and killings from a range of state and non-state actors.
Since
the release of the report, a standoff between the country’s largest
private broadcaster Geo TV (part of the Jang Media Group) and the
authorities has intensified after the network accused the ISI of being
behind the assassination attempt on journalist Hamid Mir.
Several
Jang Media Group journalists have told Amnesty International that they
have received daily threats and harassment by unknown individuals by
phone and in person. Many dare not enter their offices or identify
themselves as belonging to Geo TV or other Jang Media Group outlets for
fear of being attacked.
“There is absolutely no
justification for the vicious, organised campaign of harassment against
Jang Media Group staff across Pakistan,” said David Griffiths.“It is
particularly disappointing that rival media channels and some political
parties have joined the chorus to attack Jang Media Group, rather than
demand a full and impartial investigation of the circumstances
surrounding the attack on Hamid Mir.”
Some government
officials have also tried to pull Geo TV off the air over allegedly
“anti-state” and “blasphemous” content, and up to 80 percent of Jang
Media Group’s distribution in print and on the airwaves has been
disrupted by media industry bodies, apparently under the orders of the
Pakistani military.
“Attempts to take Geo TV off the air
are clearly politically motivated, and constitute a serious attack on
freedom of expression in Pakistan,” said David Griffiths.“The last thing
Pakistan needs now is a mudslinging campaign against Geo TV, the ISI or
anyone else. Pakistan’s long-suffering journalists deserve protection
from attacks and justice when they fall victim to abuse. It is the
responsibility of Prime Minister Sharif’s government to deliver both.
They should start by immediately resuming the investigation into
Shahzad’s death.”
Following is the text of the letter:
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER NAWAZ SHARIF
Joint statement of shared concerns about attacks on journalists in Pakistan
29 May 2014
Dear Prime Minister
Three
years ago today, journalist Saleem Shahzad was abducted a short
distance away from his Islamabad home and later found dead, his body
bearing marks consistent with torture. We, the representatives of the
undersigned group of civil society organisations working in human rights
and media, call on you to fulfil your promise to end the impunity
enjoyed by individuals and groups who threaten, attack, abduct, torture
and kill journalists in Pakistan. In order to address these attacks on
journalists, we urge you to follow through on the commitments you made
in March, and as a first phase country for the UN Action Plan on the
Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to take further
concrete steps along the lines set out below.
Based on our
collective experiences monitoring human rights globally, Pakistan is
one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists,
judging by the severity and extent of threats and attacks on media
professionals due to their reporting. Dozens of journalists have been
killed in Pakistan in direct response to their work over the last
decade. At least eight journalists have been killed since your
government came to power in June 2013.
Journalists and
other media workers from across Pakistan face harassment, abduction,
torture and attempts on their lives by state intelligence officers,
members of political parties and armed groups like the Taliban.
Journalists reporting on national security and human rights, and those
reporting from the conflict-affected northwest, violence-ravaged
Balochistan and the city of Karachi are most at risk as they rarely
enjoy protection from the state or support from their employers.
We
are deeply concerned at the failure of successive Pakistan governments
to carry out prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigations
into abuses against journalists, or to bring those responsible to
justice. Attempts on the lives of Hamid Mir and Raza Rumi and the
abduction and killing of Saleem Shahzad exemplify the enduring challenge
to justice when journalists come under attack: as far as our
organisations are aware, no one has been brought to justice for any of
these attacks. Only in two cases of journalist killings have the
perpetrators ever been convicted in Pakistan.
The failure
to bring those responsible for attacks on journalists to justice sends a
signal that the media can be silenced through violence and that the
perpetrators can literally get away with murder and other abuses. It
also has a chilling effect on freedom of expression in Pakistan, with
journalists increasingly resorting to self-censorship to avoid the risk
of harm.
It is the Pakistan government’s duty under
international law to protect the rights to life, liberty and freedom
from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment of all individuals within its territory and under its
jurisdiction, including journalists. As a state party to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Pakistan
must also ensure the media is free to carry out its critical function of
facilitating and promoting freedom of expression, as guaranteed by
Article 19 of the ICCPR. Journalists play a vital role in exposing human
rights abuse. Ensuring that journalists are able to undertake their
work free from harassment and abuse is therefore an essential
cornerstone in the protection and promotion of human rights in Pakistan.
We
call on your Government to urgently take the following steps, in line
with Pakistan’s international legal obligations, so that journalists may
carry out their work free from harassment and abuse:
*
Re-start the criminal investigations into the abduction and killing of
Saleem Shahzad, as promised by the current Pakistan government, and
ensure that all potential suspects, including members of any military
and intelligence authorities, are subjected to a full, independent and
impartial investigation.
* Ensure prompt, thorough,
independent and impartial investigations into human rights abuses
against journalists, including abductions, enforced disappearances,
torture and other ill-treatment, extrajudicial executions and other
unlawful killings.
* Ensure that all persons suspected of
crimes involving human rights abuses against journalists, regardless of
their status, rank or affiliation with state or non-state groups, are
brought to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
*
Implement the Prime Minister’s announced plan to establish a public
prosecutor at the federal and provincial levels tasked with
investigating attacks against journalists, and ensure that it is
independent, adequately staffed and resourced, and has authority to
investigate the military and intelligence services in addition to
civilians. Also implement the Prime Minister’s commitment to expedite
the prosecution of the killers of journalists by changing trial venues
and expanding witness protection programs.
* Ensure, in
line with the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists
and the Issue of Impunity, that media companies adhere to requirements
on due diligence, health and safety, among other standards in national
law and policy; and introduce systemic legal and policy reforms where
such requirements either do not exist in national law or are inadequate.
We
welcome your concern about the situation for journalists in Pakistan
and look forward to the Pakistan government taking real steps to improve
the working environment for journalists in Pakistan.
Yours faithfully
1. Amnesty International – Salil Shetty, Secretary General
2. Article 19 (UK) – Thomas Hughes, Executive Director
3. Committee to Protect Journalists – Joel Simon, Executive Director
4. Freedom House - Karin Karlekar, Project Director, Freedom of the Press
5. Human Rights Watch – Brad Adams, Executive Director, Asia Division
6. International News Safety Institute – Hannah Storm, Executive Director
7. Internews – Jeanne Bourgault, President
8. Pakistan Coalition on Media Safety – Owais Aslam Ali, Head of Secretariat
9. Pen International – Ann Harrison, Programme Director
10. Reporters Without Borders - Christopher Deloire, Secretary-General
