AI report on Pakistan: Human Rights violations under state of emergency

Amnistía Internacional publicou hoxe un informe sobre as violacións dos Direitos Humanos que cometen as autoridades desde que, hai tres semanas, o presidente Pervez Musharraf suspendeu a orde constitucional e declarou o “estado de emerxencia”.

O informe leva por título “Pakistan: Fatal erosion of human rights safeguards under emergency”. Copio e pego a súa introducción:

The current State of Emergency in Pakistan involves serious violations of international human rights law and standards, including those enshrined in the country’s own constitution.

Hundreds of lawyers, human rights activists and political workers have been arbitrarily detained across Pakistan. The whereabouts of some of those arrested remain unknown.

Independent television and radio news channels have been prevented from broadcasting within the country. New laws restricting freedom of print and electronic media have also been issued, the breach of which attracts three to four years’ imprisonment and heavy fines.

By by-passing the Constitution’s provisions for declaring a state of emergency, General Musharraf suspended most of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution, including the right not to be unlawfully deprived of life, key elements of the right to a fair trial, freedom of movement, assembly, association and speech, as well as the right to equality before the law.

The effective removal of judges, including Supreme Court judges, from office and, in some cases their de facto house arrest, plainly breaches the core provisions of the UN Principles for the Independence of the Judiciary. Government may not “hire and fire” judges so as to have courts that will do their bidding. Judges also may not be removed by the government, except in cases of incapacity or if they are unfit to discharge their duty.