Web pages about "Pakistan"

Legacy of Musharraf abuses lingers on in Pakistan

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:35:09 +0000

Pakistan is still suffering from the abusive policies put in place one year ago Monday, when General Pervez Musharraf unlawfully declared a state of emergency. General Musharraf sacked 60 judges of the higher judiciary, suspended the Constitution, including the human rights protection it guaranteed, and replaced it with the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) on 3 November 2007.

The new civilian government took office after general elections in February 2008, but a spokesperson for Amnesty International said that it has not done enough to improve the country’s human rights situation since then.

"The new civilian government that replaced Musharraf has taken some steps to improve on Pakistan's poor human rights record, but it could and should do more, starting immediately with declaring the 2007 dismissal of judges illegal," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director.

"Pakistan’s leaders need to actively demonstrate that they respect the rule of law and that the government is responsible for the human rights of all Pakistanis. Without re-establishing its legitimacy and credibility through a strong independent judiciary system, the Pakistani government will be unable to overcome the many troubles facing the country."

Pakistan’s Supreme Court was about to rule on Musharraf’s eligibility to contest the Oct 2007 presidential elections immediately before the state of emergency was declared. The judiciary was also pursuing several hundred habeas corpus petitions brought by families of those who had been subjected to enforced disappearances by Pakistan’s security agencies.

Pakistan’s judiciary has still not been restored to its status of 2 November 2007. In fact, disagreement over the reinstatement of the unlawfully dismissed judges contributed to the collapse of the coalition government that replaced Musharraf’s administration.

The new government signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture. The cabinet has issued a proposal to commute death sentences. It has also drafted a bill to set up a national human rights commission and to withdraw amendments to the Bar Councils Act that interferes with the independence of the judiciary.

Amnesty International has urged the government to act immediately on its pledges to improve the country’s human rights situation by:

declaring the dismissal of the judges of the higher judiciary in November 2007 illegal and taking steps to ensure the independence of the judiciary, including providing security of tenure and freedom from intimidation or other undue interference in the judiciary’s functioning.
moving urgently to reverse constitutional amendments introduced by President Musharraf, including the amendment that placed all action taken during the emergency period outside judicial review and the amendment which gives the president powers to dismiss an elected government.
following through on its June promise to commute all death sentences – an estimated 7,000 remain on death row
providing public information about all those in government custody – hundreds of people remain subject to enforced disappearance, with their fate and whereabouts unknown.

Pakistan: One year after emergency, legacy of abuses lingers on

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:18:17 +0000

A year after General Pervez Musharraf unlawfully declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, the country is still suffering from the abusive policies he put in place on 3 November 2007, said Amnesty International today.

Last year General Pervez Musharraf sacked 60 judges of the higher judiciary, suspended the Constitution, including the human rights protection it guaranteed, and replaced it with the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).

The new civilian government took office after general elections in February 2008 but has not done enough to improve the country’s human rights situation since then.

“The new civilian government which replaced Musharraf has taken some steps to improve on Pakistan’s poor human rights record, but it could and should do more, starting immediately with declaring the 2007 dismissal of judges illegal,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director.

“Pakistan’s leaders need to actively demonstrate that they respect the rule of law and that the government is responsible for the human rights of all Pakistanis. Without re-establishing its legitimacy and credibility through a strong independent judiciary system the Pakistani government will be unable to overcome the many troubles facing the country.”

Amnesty International urges the government to act immediately on its pledges to improve the country’s human rights situation by:

declaring the dismissal of the judges of the higher judiciary in November 2007 illegal and taking steps to ensure the independence of the judiciary, including providing security of tenure and freedom from intimidation or other undue interference in the judiciary’s functioning.
moving urgently to reverse constitutional amendments introduced by President Musharraf, including the amendment that placed all action taken during the emergency period outside judicial review and the amendment which gives the president powers to dismiss an elected government.
following through on its June promise to commute all death sentences – an estimated 7,000 remain on death row
providing public information about all those in government custody – hundreds of people remain subject to enforced disappearance, with their fate and whereabouts unknown.

Background
Immediately before the state of emergency was declared, Pakistan’s Supreme Court was about to rule on Musharraf’s eligibility to contest the Oct 2007 presidential elections. The judiciary was also pursuing several hundred habeas corpus petitions brought by families of those who had been subjected to enforced disappearances by Pakistan’s security agencies.

Pakistan’s judiciary has still not been restored to its status of 2 November 2007. In fact, disagreement over the reinstatement of the unlawfully dismissed judges contributed to the collapse of the coalition government that replaced Musharraf’s administration.

The new government signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture. The cabinet has issued a proposal to commute death sentences. It has also drafted a bill to set up a national human rights commission and to withdraw amendments to the Bar Councils Act that interferes with the independence of the judiciary.

Pakistan/Afghanistan: Thousands of displaced civilians in border area have right to international assistance

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:08:34 +0000

Tens of thousands of civilians require immediate international humanitarian assistance as a result of escalating fighting on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border since the beginning of August, Amnesty International said today.

More than 20,000 people have fled from Pakistan to eastern Afghanistan to avoid fighting between government forces and pro-Taleban insurgents in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), while FATA authorities have asked Afghan refugees in Bajaur Agency to leave the area.

"Both the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as international forces operating in Afghanistan, have a legal obligation to provide safe passage, consistent security and humanitarian assistance to the refugees and internally displaced people on both sides of the border. They should also ensure that local and international humanitarian agencies are able to work safely in providing assistance to those in need," said Sam Zarifi, Asia Director at Amnesty International.

"The continued fighting in southern Afghanistan and the more recent conflict in northern Pakistan are creating a very dangerous situation in the region for civilians trying to find refuge. With the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, there is an expectation that even more civilians will leave their homes to avoid the fighting."

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since mid September more than 600 families have fled fighting in Bajaur Agency in the FATA, where in recent months a Pakistani military campaign against anti-government insurgents has increased tensions. This is in addition to the 3,364 families which took refuge in the districts of Shigal, Marawara, Dangam, and other areas of Afghanistan’s Kunar province in early August.

UNHCR reports that the majority of the families fleeing Pakistan are living with tribal relatives or host families in Kunar but some 200 families are living in the open. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the majority of the displaced from Bajaur Agency are women and children.

“These refugees could be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. They are escaping fighting in Pakistan but they are at risk of being caught in the crossfire of the current fighting in Afghanistan between coalition forces and the Taleban and other anti-government groups,” said Zarifi.

Humanitarian assistance to the Pakistani refugees in Kunar province is being sent via the Afghan government because routes to the area, and the area itself, are not safe for direct humanitarian response.

It is essential that all government and international security forces in Afghanistan, as well as anti-government forces, ensure that free and safe passage of humanitarian assistance to these vulnerable refugees is made a priority, especially as the winter months approach. Particular attention should be given to groups with special protection needs, such as women, children, and the elderly.

"People who have fled the fighting, whether they have crossed the border or not, have the right not to be forced to return to Bajaur or other FATA areas and Afghans in the FATA are offered safe alternatives to returning to Afghanistan’s conflict-ridden south, until the security situation has improved,” said Zarifi.

Background
The armed conflict in Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Swat District of the North West Frontier Province began in early August but intensified in September. More than 250,000 people have reportedly been displaced.

New Pakistani president must improve human rights

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:26:33 +0000

With the swearing in of Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani government should act immediately to reverse the country's human rights record.

Amnesty International urged Mr Zardari and his party's government to:

reveal the fate of hundreds of victims of "enforced disappearances"

reinstate all the judges illegally deposed by former president Pervez Musharraf in November 2007

commute the death sentences for more than 7,000 people currently on death row

protect civilians in the tribal areas of Pakistan

"There are no excuses for the government to delay acting on its pledge to address the terrible situation for many families of the "disappeared" by gathering and publicizing a list of all those in government detention," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific Director.

Amnesty International also said that the human rights situation would remain bleak in Pakistan without an effective, independent judiciary. "The restoration of the judges is a necessary step toward ensuring an independent judiciary." Zafiri said. "Judges are in a unique position to challenge human rights policies, overturn abusive laws and protect individuals from violations. Without an effective, independent judiciary, the human rights situation will remain bleak in Pakistan."

The organization also reminded the new president of the public commitment made by his party and the prime minister to commute the death sentences of more than 7,000 people who are on death row – what would be the largest mass commutation in modern times. This would be the first action towards a general moratorium on the death penalty, with the ultimate aim of abolishing it.

In the final point of the statement, Amnesty International recognized the legitimate security concerns of the Pakistan government in the tribal areas of Pakistan but urged the new President that security forces operations should aim at protection of civilian lives. The security forces operations and militants’ activities have resulted in mass internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, in addition to the loss of many civilian lives.

Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the new president of Pakistan on 6 September when president Pervez Musharraf resigned on 18 August, after the new elected government in Pakistan threatened him with impeachment proceedings.

Mr Zardari is the widower of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated on 7 December 2007. He became head of the Pakistan People's Party after her death.

Video: Protest launches tour against enforced disappearance in Pakistan

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:56:38 +0000

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Protest launches tour against enforced disappearance in Pakistan

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:03:08 +0000

Amnesty International called on the Pakistan government to reveal the fate and whereabouts of hundreds of disappeared people, amid international protests to mark the 25th International Day of the Disappeared on Saturday 30 August.

Amina Janjua, the founder of Defence of Human Rights, a Pakistani organisation that campaigns for the release of the disappeared, was joined by Amnesty International activists to demonstrate outside the Pakistani High Commission in London. They chanted “Justice now for the disappeared” and handed over a petition. The demonstration marked the start of an international tour by Amina Janjua, supported by Amnesty International.

Amina Janjua will appeal to governments around the world to raise their voices against enforced disappearance in Pakistan. She speaks for 563 families of the disappeared. She knows only too well the pain and suffering caused by this illegal practice - her own husband, Masood Janjua, was apprehended in Pakistan over three years ago while travelling on a bus to Peshawar. State officials deny his detention and all knowledge of his whereabouts.

Amina Janjua will go to Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and the USA as part of the tour to raise awareness of the issue in Pakistan. She will join Amnesty International in campaigning for governments to put pressure on Pakistan's new ruling coalition to investigate all cases of enforced disappearance and to ensure the practice is brought to an end.

Background
The Pakistan government began widely using the practice of enforced disappearances after it joined the US-led "war on terror" in 2001. Hundreds of people suspected of links to terrorist activity have been arbitrarily detained in Pakistan and held in secret facilities.

Denied access to lawyers, families and courts and held outside all protection of the law, they are victims of enforced disappearance. Most, if not all, are subjected to torture and ill-treatment. The government has repeatedly denied any knowledge of their whereabouts, despite mounting evidence, including official court records and affadavits.

Many of those picked up in Pakistan were secretly handed over to the US authorities, often for financial reward, ending up in Guantánamo Bay and secret CIA detention centres.

Domestic political opponents of the Pakistani government were also targeted, in particular, members of Pakistan's Sindhi and Baloch nationalist groups advocating greater autonomy. Amnesty International's recent report Denying the Undeniable: Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan, confronted the authorities with evidence of how government officials obstructed attempts to trace those who have "disappeared."

Musharraf is gone, but still no sign of the disappeared

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:32:49 +0000

Saturday 30 August marked the 25th anniversary of the International Day of the Disappeared. Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, calls on Pakistan's new government to publish details on those held in secret detention and shed light on the fate of many disappeared citizens.

Pakistan’s new ruling coalition may have successfully forced Pervez Musharraf to resign but it still has not done much to reverse his administration’s abusive human rights legacy. Twenty five years since the International Day of the Disappeared was launched, Pakistan has joined the list of nations practising enforced disappearances as a direct consequence of its alliance with the US-led "war on terror".

This particularly painful legacy of the Musharraf era has subjected hundreds, if not thousands, to enforced disappearances -- the practice under which people are kidnapped, held in secret locations outside any judicial or legal system, and often tortured, sometimes to the point of death. Pakistan not only shamefully helped fill the wire cages at Guantánamo Bay's Camp X Ray and the secret prisons of the CIA by handing some of the detainees to the US authorities but also incarcerated many secretly in Pakistan itself. Held out of sight and without charge, with no word to their families and loved ones (much less lawyers), the fate of many of them remain unknown to this day.

In September 2006, after Amnesty International published its first report on the disappeared in Pakistan, I wrote to President Musharraf and in January 2007 met with the then Prime Minister Shawkat Aziz to urge the government to investigate and end the appalling practice of abduction and secret detention. I never received a satisfactory response.

If the leaders of the ruling coalition want to demonstrate they are serious about changing Musharraf’s policies, they should immediately reveal details of where the hundreds of disappeared are being held. And then they must begin the process of establishing some control and accountability over the country’s notorious security agencies, chief among them the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), which carried out these enforced disappearances.

Amnesty International’s recent report 'Denying the Undeniable: Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan', used official court records and affidavits of victims and witnesses of enforced disappearances to show how government officials, especially from the security and intelligence agencies, obstructed attempts to trace those who had disappeared. The report reveals a pattern of security or other forces arbitrarily detaining people (some of them children, in one case a nine-year-old boy), blindfolding them, and moving them around various detention centres so they become difficult to trace.

Take the case of Dr. Imran Munir, a Malaysian citizen of Pakistani origin, who was arrested in July 2006 and whose whereabouts remained unknown until Pakistan’s Supreme Court demanded information from Pakistani authorities. After the Supreme Court took up regular hearings of cases about the disappeared in late 2006, around a hundred disappeared persons were traced, having either been released or found in recognized places of detention. Dr. Munir was one those lucky ones; during the course of hearings on his case, it became apparent that various security agencies had tried to hide him even after the Supreme Court had ordered his appearance in court.

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry became impatient with such obfuscation and denial and announced in October 2007 that it would summon the heads of the intelligence agencies to explain their role in enforced disappearances and would initiate legal action against those found responsible.

Dr Munir was set to record his statement regarding his enforced disappearance, as well as information about others subjected to enforced disappearance, when the hearing was disrupted by Musharraf’s imposition of the state of emergency in November last year and the unlawful deposing of independent-minded judges.

Musharraf’s Declaration of Emergency expressed his indignation succinctly when it spoke of “judicial interference” in the government’s fight against terrorism. The sacking of the judges, clearly and crucially in anticipation of a negative decision in respect of the eligibility of Musharraf to the office of the presidency, got rid of this irritant.

Not surprisingly, the hand-picked new judges of the Supreme Court have not found it necessary -- or opportune -- to resume hearings about the hundreds of petitions relating to disappeared persons. A confrontation with those responsible for enforced disappearances, including Pakistan’s notorious intelligence services, apparently takes more determination, grit and political will than they appear able to muster.

Thus the fate of the disappeared has become closely entwined with that of Pakistan’s higher judiciary. It seems unlikely that the disappeared will receive appropriate judicial scrutiny for the time being, given the controversy over the reinstatement of deposed judges.

But the new government need not await judicial pressure to shed light on the fate of the disappeared. The government can use its executive authority to demand that the ISI and other security agencies provide information about those subjected to enforced disappearance. As a first step, the government should immediately gather and publicize a list of all those in government detention. It’s good record-keeping; it’s basic law enforcement; it’s also the law.

In April 2008, shortly after the elections, Law Minister Farooq Naik stated that the government was collecting details of disappeared persons and pledged that all would be released. Now is the time to go public with that information.

Providing information about the fate of the disappeared would bring some solace to hundreds of families -- thousands of people -- who continue to fear for the lives of their loved ones, aware that torture and other ill-treatment are routine in Pakistani places of detention.

By abducting and detaining terrorist suspects in secret hiding places, or failing to investigate and reveal the fate of the disappeared the government violates human rights and does little to counter terrorism. By arresting and prosecuting those suspected of terrorism in accordance with the rule of law the government can show its commitment to both human rights and fighting terrorism.

It would also send a clear, immediate signal of a radical break with the Musharraf era, and at very little cost -- something very important to the fractious new government as it faces the many woes besetting the country such as a slumping economy, high fuel costs and a growing Taliban insurgency in the areas bordering Afghanistan.

Pakistan's new government has a clear choice: it can continue the bankrupt and brutal anti-human rights practices of the Musharraf regime or it can counter terror with justice and put the country on the path of the rule of law and human rights.

Pakistan: New government must seize the opportunity to reveal the truth about enforced disappearances

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:37:17 +0000

"The new government of Pakistan should immediately reveal details of where hundreds of missing people, the victims of enforced disappearances, are being held, investigate all cases and hold to account those responsible -- including the country's security and intelligence agencies," said Amnesty International in a report released today.

Amnesty International also demanded that Pakistan's new government leaders reinstate deposed judges who had previously been investigating disappearance cases. When President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November 2007, he deposed key judges who had demanded answers from the state on enforced disappearances.

In its new report 'Denying the undeniable, enforced disappearances in Pakistan', Amnesty International uses official court records and affidavits of victims and witnesses of enforced disappearances to confront the Pakistan authorities with evidence of how government officials, especially from the security and intelligence agencies, obstructed attempts to trace those who had disappeared.

Hundreds of people who have "disappeared" were detained under counter terrorism measures justified by Pakistan as part of the US-led 'war on terror'.

The report also calls on other governments -- most notably the US -- to ensure that they are not complicit in, contributing to, or tolerating the practice of enforced disappearances. Many people who have been secretly held in detention centres in Pakistan say they were interrogated by Pakistani intelligence agencies but also by foreign intelligence agents.

"Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has emphasized the coalition government's commitment to upholding human rights. We urge him to act immediately to resolve all cases of enforced disappearance", said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director.

"As a first immediate measure, the new government should ease the suffering of the relatives of the 'disappeared' by either releasing the detainees or transferring them to official places of detention."

Enforced disappearances, by their nature, are shrouded in secrecy, making it impossible to provide accurate numbers of victims. Pakistani organizations working on behalf of families of those who have disappeared claim there are at least 563 cases.

From affidavits and testimonies the report reveals a pattern of security or other forces arbitrarily detaining people (some of them children, in one case a nine-year-old boy), blindfolding them, and moving them around various detention centres so they become difficult to trace.

"We don't know if those subjected to enforced disappearances are guilty or innocent, but it is their fundamental right to be charged and tried properly in a court of law," said Sam Zarifi.

"By holding people in secret detention the government of Pakistan has not only violated their rights, but also failed in its duty to charge and try those suspected of involvement in attacks on civilians."

Background
This report (ASA 33/018/2008) is the latest in an ongoing campaign by Amnesty International to end the practice of enforced disappearances worldwide.

In 2006, Amnesty International documented dozens of cases of enforced disappearances in Pakistan, focusing on people who were picked up in the counter terrorism measures adopted by Pakistan in the context of the US-led 'war on terror'.

At the time, President Musharraf dismissed Amnesty International's allegations by stating: "I don't even want to reply to that, it is nonsense, I don't believe it, I don't trust it." He added that his government had detained 700 people but that all were accounted for. In March 2007, President Musharraf again asserted that the claim that hundreds of persons had disappeared in the custody of Pakistani intelligence agencies had "absolutely no basis" but that in fact these individuals had been recruited or lured by "jihadi groups" to fight. "I am deadly sure that the missing persons are in the control of militant organizations," he said.

Case studies from the report
* Asad Usman, a nine-year-old boy, was picked up by the Balochistan Frontier Constabulary who are on the record as saying that he would be released after his wanted elder brother surrendered. He was detained in Tump or Mand, near Turbat in Balochistan province. The Supreme Court ordered his release on 27 April 2007.

* Masood Janjua, a 45 year old businessman and father, was apprehended by Pakistani security forces while on a bus in July 2005 with his friend Faisal Faraz, a 25-year-old engineer from Lahore. The government has not acknowledged that it is holding Mr Janjua, despite testimony from several former detainees -- including Dr. Imran Munir -- who saw him in custody. Masood's wife, Amina Masood Janjua, co-founded the Defence of Human Rights group with Faisal's mother.

* Dr. Imran Munir, a Malaysian citizen of Pakistani origin, was arrested in July 2006 and his whereabouts remained unknown until the Supreme Court was informed in its hearing on 4 May 2007 that he was facing a court martial on charges of "spying against Pakistan". A month later the Court was informed that Dr. Munir had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment. The Court ordered his appearance in court and, on finding that his health was deteriorating, ordered his admission into hospital. Dr. Munir was set to record his statement regarding his enforced disappearance when the hearing was disrupted with the imposition of the state of emergency in November last year. Dr. Munir's conviction was set aside by military authorities after the Supreme Court questioned the conviction. Amnesty International has been informed that Dr. Munir has not yet been retried on spying charges, which remain pending against him, and that he is still confined to hospital.

Denying the undeniable: Enforced disappearances in Pakistan

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:19:46 +0000

“For us relief is only when our loved one is safe and sound standing freed before us. [...] I believe that my husband Masood is held only three kilometres from my home, yet he continues to suffer unknown ill-treatment and we, his wife, his children and his very old parents cannot even see him. They [the new government] must act now to bring them back immediately."
- Amina Masood Janjua, July 2008

The last time Amina Masood Janjua saw her husband, Masood Janjua, was on 30 July 2005 when he left home to meet his friend Faisal Faraz. Pakistani security forces apprehended both men on that day while on a bus journey to another city.

Since then, Pakistan’s government has been holding them in secret without charge or trial, repeatedly denying any knowledge of their whereabouts despite eyewitness testimony as to their detention.

Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz are among hundreds of victims of enforced disappearance in Pakistan, including children as young as nine and ten years old. Many of them were detained after the attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001, their detentions justified in the name of the US-led “war on terror”.

The practice, rare before 2001, then spread to activists involved in pushing for greater ethnic or regional rights, including Baloch and Sindhis.

Despite undeniable evidence, the government of President Pervez Musharraf consistently denied subjecting anyone to enforced disappearances.

In the report Denying the undeniable, enforced disappearances in Pakistan, Amnesty International uses official court records and affidavits of victims and witnesses of enforced disappearances to confront the Pakistani authorities with evidence of how government officials obstructed attempts to trace those who have “disappeared.”

New government brings opportunity for change
The report urges the newly elected government of Pakistan – which has pledged to improve Pakistan’s human rights record - to end the policy of denial, investigate all cases of enforced disappearance and hold those responsible to account.

“By holding people in secret detention the government of Pakistan has not only violated their rights, but also failed in its duty to charge and try those suspected of involvement in attacks on civilians”, said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific director.

Crucially, Pakistan’s new government must reinstate deposed judges who had previously been investigating disappearance cases and were deposed by President Pervez Musharraf when he imposed a state of emergency in the country in November 2007.

Complicity of other governments
The report also calls on other governments - most notably the USA - to ensure that they are not complicit in and do not contribute to or tolerate the practice of enforced disappearance in Pakistan.

Many of those unlawfully held at the US detention centre in Guantánamo Bay, and those who have been held in secret CIA custody were arrested in Pakistan. Others were unlawfully transferred from Pakistan to countries where they faced torture and other ill treatment.

Many people who have been secretly held in detention centres in Pakistan say they were interrogated by Pakistani intelligence agencies, but also by foreign intelligence agents.

Different voices

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:52:17 +0000

When Amnesty International presented Report 2008 to the media at The Foreign Press Association in London on 27 May, several people involved in human rights campaigning around the world were invited as special guests. We caught up with three of them.

The first female judge to work at the High Court in Pakistan, Majida Razvi, is now retired. She is currently a women's rights defender and one of seven trustees of the Panah Shelter Home for women in Karachi.

Panah seeks to provide a peaceful haven and temporary refuge for women who are victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, or under threat of honour killings.

Majida Razvi says she's happy to support the launch of Amnesty International's Report 2008 because "we established the shelter homes in 2001 and the seed money was given by Amnesty International to start with. Also other organizations connected to Amnesty International have been helping us in Karachi. So I think Amnesty International has been a great help and I hope it will be in the future."

Since starting Panah, Majida Razvi says the greatest change she has noticed is the overall awareness of the issues surrounding violence against women. "We are not only providing shelter for these women but we are also trying to create awareness amongst these women by holding workshops and the like."

"There's a greater awareness amongst the public now too. We've also been successful in changing the attitude of the police and the judiciary, trying to get them to be more sympathetic and polite to women who are victims. We need a revolution in the mind of the public and in the minds of men and also in the minds of the women who are governed by their husbands, and by the mullahs of the area."

A young Brighton-based Zimbabwean, Alois Mbawara, has been living in exile in the UK since 2002. He is one of the founding members of Free-Zim Youth, an organization that tries to influence institutions and organisations to take a tougher stance on Harare.

"We are young Zimbabweans in exile who fled the repression and political violence in Zimbabwe," says Mbawara. "As citizens of Zimbabwe we need to be exposing the gross human rights violations being perpetuated by the Mugabe regime. So that's how we came up with the idea for this civic organization to lobby the African Union, to get it to take a stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe.

Mbawara explains why he agreed to join Amnesty’s launch event "It's good exposure. In particular it gives us a multilateral venue to express what is happening in Zimbabwe. It is an historical opportunity to express our views on the political nature of Zimbabwe."

He adds that Amnesty’s work has been helpful in "documenting the day-to-day lives of the ordinary person in Zimbabwe. I have to stress that, due to the lack of free press and media, even people who work for human rights organizations don't have access to information about the political violence in Zimbabwe and are unable to publicize it. So, Amnesty International plays a very pivotal role."

Since starting Free-Zim Youth, Mbawara says their advocacy work, lobbying and demonstrations have had an effect. "Some may call it undiplomatic but we had to confront South African leaders when they came over to the UK and say to them 'now look here, you need to be in a position to do something'" he says, recalling the group's protest during South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma's 2006 lecture at the London School of Economics.

"We have been having a positive response from that. The South African government has since released a critical statement that they will take a tough stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe."

Released from Guantánamo on 24 August 2006, German-born Turkish national Murat Kurnaz had been held for four years and eight months without charge or trial, despite little evidence to link him to "terrorist" activities. Both US and German intelligence services secretly acknowledged this, yet it took years to secure his release.

Kurnaz has alleged that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in US custody. His book, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantánamo, was launched at an Amnesty International event in Belfast on May 8. John Le Carre called it "The most compassionate, truthful and dignified account of the disgrace of Guantanamo that you are ever likely to read." Patti Smith wrote a song about Kurnaz called "Without Chains" in 2006. She also wrote the foreword to his book.

Kurnaz says he agreed to attend the launch of the Amnesty International Report 2008 because "I like to use all the chances I have to talk, not for me, because I am already a free man, but I'm still trying to help the ones still held in torture camps and prisons and I'm campaigning against those people supporting torture and building torture camps."

Speaking about Amnesty International, Kurnaz says "Amnesty International is trying to show the people what is going on. It's up to the people, when they know the truth, then they can try to make things change."

While positive, Kurnaz concedes that change won't happen overnight. "Because things that have happened in the past have come to light, maybe they won't happen again in the future. I feel like even if it's very slow, things are going to get changed. A few days ago I was the first former Guantánamo detainee to testify before the American Congress. It was the first time they had talked about Guantánamo. I hope this will mean big changes for the future."