SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

22927,397 prisoners house 10,194 persons, including 485 children. Some 80 percent ofprisoners are awaiting trial, mostly for petty offenses.Prisoners routinely are shackled. The principal of the institute for jail staff trainingin Lahore stated in a July 1999 press interview that fettering is the most convenientway to administer an overcrowded jail. While the Pakistan Prison Act of1894 permits fettering for a variety of offenses, the punishment usually is given foradministrative convenience, or to extract bribes from prisoners. The shackles usedare tight, heavy, and painful, and reportedly have led to gangrene and amputationin several cases. According to a press report, Shaheen Akhtar, a 15-year-old rapevictim charged with adultery under the Hudood Ordinances, was kept fettered ina hospital despite being diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis; Akhtar died in May(see Section 1.c.). Although the Sindh High Court ruled fettering illegal in 1993, thepractice continues, and visitors to Sindhi jails regularly see fettered prisoners. OnApril 21, General Musharraf condemned fettering as a ‘‘tool of indignity.’’ Followinga Lahore High Court ruling in June, prison wardens in Lahore were ordered to removefetters; however police personnel and prison administrators have resisted (seeSection 4).There are three classes (A, B, and C) of prison facilities. Class ‘‘C’’ cells generallyhold common criminals and those in pretrial detention. Such cells often have dirtfloors, no furnishings, and poor food. Prisoners in these cells reportedly suffer themost abuse, including beatings and forced kneeling for long periods of time. In 1998the Senate’s Committee on Human Rights reported that at one facility inHyderabad, 60 prisoners were confined to a space 100 feet by 30 feet with only 1latrine. Such unsanitary conditions are common in small, poorly ventilated, and decrepitcolonial-era prisons. Inadequate food, often consisting of only a few pieces ofbread, led to chronic malnutrition for those unable to supplement their diet withhelp from family or friends. Access to medical care is a problem. Mentally ill prisonersnormally lack adequate care and are not segregated from the general prisonpopulation (see Section 5). Foreign prisoners, mostly citizens of African countrieswith minimal diplomatic representation, often remain in prison long after their sentencesare completed because there is no one to pay for their deportation to theirhome country. Conditions in ‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’ cells are markedly better; prisoners inthese cells are permitted to have servants, special food, and televisions. Authoritiesreserve ‘‘A’’ cells for prominent persons, including political leaders. Especially prominentindividuals—including some political figures—sometimes are held under housearrest and permitted to receive visitors.In September prisoners in Hyderabad prison rioted to protest poor prison conditions.On September 25, police used force to quell a large prison riot; no casualtyfigures were reported. Prisoners also held riots over prison conditions in Peshawarin October and in Dera Islami Khan in December. There were reports that four prisonersdied in the Peshawar jail riot; however, prison authorities denied the reports.The Government permits prison visits by human rights monitors (see Section1.d.). Landlords in Sindh and political factions in Karachi operated private jails (seeSection 1.d.).d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile.—The law regulates arrest and detentionprocedures; however, the authorities do not always comply with the law and policearbitrarily arrested and detained citizens. The law permits the Deputy Commissioner(DC) of a local district to order detention without charge for 30 days of personssuspected of threatening public order and safety. The DC may renew detentionin 30-day increments, up to a total of 90 days. Human rights monitors report instancesin which prisoners jailed under the Maintenance of Public Order Act havebeen imprisoned for up to 6 months without charge. For other criminal offenses, policemay hold a suspect for 24 hours without charge. After the prisoner appears beforea magistrate, the court can grant permission for continued detention for a maximumperiod of 14 days if the police provide material proof that this is necessaryfor an investigation. The Musharraf regime created the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) and special accountability courts to try corruption cases; the NationalAccountability Ordinance allows those suspected of corrupt practices to be detainedfor 90 days without charge (see Section 1.e.).Police may arrest individuals on the basis of a First Incident Report (FIR) filedby a complainant, and have been known to file FIR’s without supporting evidence.FIR’s frequently are used to harass or intimidate individuals. Charges against anindividual also may be based on a ‘‘blind’’ FIR, which lists the perpetrators as ‘‘personor persons unknown.’’ If the case is not solved, the FIR is placed in the inactivefile. When needed, a FIR is reactivated and taken to a magistrate by the police; thepolice then name a suspect and ask that the suspect be remanded for 14 days whilethey investigate further. After 14 days, the case is dropped for lack of evidence, butVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1