Hector Aleem shares his personal experience in jail

ADIALA PRISON PAKISTAN’S VERY OWN ABU GHARIB – GUANTANAMO

I am sharing some important facts of Adiala Prison which is the model jail of Pakistan and is famous for its civilized condition, if this is the condition of civilized prison than you can imagine the condition of other prisons of Pakistan. This is only what I have seen during four years of my illegal detention for false accusations, what happened to me will be written in my next article.

Superintendent and deputy superintendent of Jail gathered all the Christian prisoners and in no uncertain terms ordered them to refrain from any religious activities including prayer sessions. The Christian prisoners, some of them having under graduate - post graduate academic qualifications were assigned janitorial duties simply because they were Christians. Those resisting such orders were warned of harsh punishment in the form of routine beating, torture and other inhumane acts if they did not toe the line. Those Christian prisoners that disobey such orders are beaten till they succumb to their injuries, The Above mentioned officials of Adiala Jail conveniently labeling such death in custody as‘Suicides’. In the absence of post mortem, how can it be determined whether the prisoner died a natural or injury inflicted death. Simply they ordered Christians to perform the dirty duty like toilet washing and gutter cleaning due to their faith.

Other Christian prisoners who are in fear cooperate with these officials by doing janitorial duties are not provided adequate safety equipment. The concept of gloves and proper footwear is alien to our comprehension. Such prisoners develop various skin related diseases eventually succumbing to their injuries without any compensation from the authorities.

The penal system was introduced by the civilized world to rehabilitate those who committed crimes. Prisons serve as a useful deterrent to crime as well as confining hardened criminals for extended periods of time thereby ensuring non repetition of crimes as well as ensuring the safety of law abiding citizens.

Undoubtedly criminals who do the crime must do the time; it is the period of detention as well as the quality of life of prisoners that differs worldwide. In developed nations, prisons are well managed by professionals who respect the fundamental rights of each prisoner. Prisoners are human being and have to be properly cared for during the entire period of their incarceration. First and foremost it is vital that prisoners are adequately fed and clothed. Religious freedom and visitation rights must be respected. If prisoners show keen interest in pursuing further education, the authorities must oblige. A reformed prisoner will be better able to re-adjust into society after serving his time. In developing countries however, prisons are misused for a variety of purposes. Innocent people are falsely accused by politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement agencies of crimes they did not commit. It is such gross human rights violations that we like to highlight. The prison in question this time is not Abu Gharib orGuantanamo but our own Adiala Prison.

Adiala prison is located in Rawalpindi. It was originally designed to house inmates but now has more than five times that number. Cramped quarters, unhygienic living conditions, unpalatable food, inadequate healthcare facilities, absence of educational inducement, denial of religious freedom, routine torture, regular gang rape and sodomy both by wardens and hardened criminals, denial of visitation rights, confiscation of gifts and food from well-wishers are

Adiala has seen many wardens over the decades. Interestingly enough each new warden brazenly flouts the law more than his predecessor. Either the government has a special training camp where senior law enforcement officials receive training on how to excel in human rights violations or these wardens are chosen from a huge list of renowned sadists. According to my experience, even President and Prime Minister of Pakistan ignore any complaints against atrocious conditions in Adiala and prefer to ignore any plea. It seems the more complains direr the situation gets. Perhaps it’s the governments’ way of reminding that they are not prepared to except any criticism of their head handed tactics.     

Christian prisoners who dare to air their grievances to the concerned authorities or for that matter human rights organizations or NGO’s face severe punishment from wardens who simply cannot tolerate whistle blowers. Just who do these prisoners turn to, to redress their grievances? Knowing the docile characteristics of Christians, wardens deliberately inflict more inhumane punishment on Christians simply to satisfy their ego as well as earn promotion for a job well done.

The Pakistan government and Pakistani electronic and print media is quick to point out the harsh treatment to prisoners in far away places like Abu Gharib or Guantanamo but prefer to close both eyes at the atrocities that occur in prisons within their own domain. The government fails to take into account that prisoners serving time in Abu Gharib or Guantanamo are war criminals or terrorists who have committed crimes against humanity and are meted out exemplary punishment, but the Christian prisoners here in Pakistan are neither terrorist nor war criminals and have never committed crimes against humanity in the name of religion or for that matter any other warped ideology. Christian prisoners are largely in prisons for minor crimes. Moreover these Christian prisoners are Pakistani citizens and deserve equal treatment as enshrined in the Constitution.

Access to prisoners to conduct proper investigation into their allegations is rare to say the least. The prison authorities will prevent outsiders from mingling with prisoners, least their deceptive and atrocious behavior will surface. Peace Worldwide want an immediate reinstatement of religious worship and regular prayer for Christians. Moreover all janitorial duties must be equally shared by all prisoners irrespective of their religious background. After all Muslim prisoners (who are in larger numbers in Adiala prison) are equally responsible for creating an unhygienic environment, so they are just as responsible for the clean up process.

Also, an access to hospital should be given to all those Christian prisoners who have suffered injuries due to the barbaric acts of prison authorities. We would also like to see all Christian prisoners provided proper healthcare facilities and are not subjected to further physical torture. An independent body should be created to oversee any human rights violations that occur in prisons all overPakistan. Prison Wardens and other officials must either be suspended or removed from service when they are found guilty of human rights violations. These same officials must serve time in the very prison they committed these violations. International organisations should be allowed to meet regularly with all prisoners especially Christian prisoners, to better understand first-hand the situation that currently exists in Adiala Prison.  Though it is difficult for them to let these organisations visit and point out the human rights violation in the prison but if somehow any international organisation visits, they make them visit the dummy places which are free of violation and any inhumane activity and give them EVERYTHING IS OKAY report.

Enough is enough. Christians are fed up with the discriminatory, despicable and unwarranted behavior of the Pakistani government, the law enforcement agencies as well as the Muslim masses of Pakistan. Up until now Christians have been quiet on all fronts preferring to maintain the status quo but such inaction has further deteriorated the basic rights of all Christians in Pakistan.

Pakistan now enjoys a front seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Exposing their dirty laundry on the international forum will certainly infuriate their politicians and will only further confirm Pakistan status as a nation of ‘Hypocrites’. We warn government of Pakistan to correct them and follow the right path and do what is written in the jail manual and what they show to the international organisations.

Is Pakistan prepared to live with such demeaning expletive? Will ‘Enlightened Moderation’ be further strengthened or weakened by continuous human rights violations that occur regularly in Pakistan. The time has come for the Pakistani Government as well as the people of Pakistan to embrace ‘One Nation – One People’ culture which is far more difficult for both the government of Pakistan, ISI and other agencies to digest. Christians will not any longer tolerate erosion in their birth rights and demand equal status as Citizens of Pakistan. Peace Worldwide want religious freedom for Christians of Pakistan and the right to practice their religion without continuous interference from Islamists and Government of Pakistan. We also want appropriate punishment for Muslims for similar crimes that Christians unnecessarily are incarcerated for. The socio-economic picture should register an overall improvement benefiting all Pakistani citizens, not just Muslims.

We strongly urge the Government of Pakistan as well as International Human Rights organizations to help improvePakistan’s poor human rights record. Religious extremism and racial vilification must be uprooted immediately. Senior government officials must refrain from personal prejudices while discharging their duties. Pakistan has very bad reputation. Christians would like to cooperate with the government and the people in improving the socio-economic situation, but more effort from government of Pakistan is required to achieve this objective.

Hector Aleem

Chairman

Peace Worldwide

ADIALA PRISON PAKISTAN’S VERY OWN ABU GHARIB – GUANTANAMO

I am sharing some important facts of Adiala Prison which is the model jail of Pakistan and is famous for its civilized condition, if this is the condition of civilized prison than you can imagine the condition of other prisons of Pakistan. This is only what I have seen during four years of my illegal detention for false accusations, what happened to me will be written in my next article.

Superintendent and deputy superintendent of Jail gathered all the Christian prisoners and in no uncertain terms ordered them to refrain from any religious activities including prayer sessions. The Christian prisoners, some of them having under graduate - post graduate academic qualifications were assigned janitorial duties simply because they were Christians. Those resisting such orders were warned of harsh punishment in the form of routine beating, torture and other inhumane acts if they did not toe the line. Those Christian prisoners that disobey such orders are beaten till they succumb to their injuries, The Above mentioned officials of Adiala Jail conveniently labeling such death in custody as ‘Suicides’. In the absence of post mortem, how can it be determined whether the prisoner died a natural or injury inflicted death. Simply they ordered Christians to perform the dirty duty like toilet washing and gutter cleaning due to their faith.

Other Christian prisoners who are in fear cooperate with these officials by doing janitorial duties are not provided adequate safety equipment. The concept of gloves and proper footwear is alien to our comprehension. Such prisoners develop various skin related diseases eventually succumbing to their injuries without any compensation from the authorities.

The penal system was introduced by the civilized world to rehabilitate those who committed crimes. Prisons serve as a useful deterrent to crime as well as confining hardened criminals for extended periods of time thereby ensuring non repetition of crimes as well as ensuring the safety of law abiding citizens.

Undoubtedly criminals who do the crime must do the time; it is the period of detention as well as the quality of life of prisoners that differs worldwide. In developed nations, prisons are well managed by professionals who respect the fundamental rights of each prisoner. Prisoners are human being and have to be properly cared for during the entire period of their incarceration. First and foremost it is vital that prisoners are adequately fed and clothed. Religious freedom and visitation rights must be respected. If prisoners show keen interest in pursuing further education, the authorities must oblige. A reformed prisoner will be better able to re-adjust into society after serving his time. In developing countries however, prisons are misused for a variety of purposes. Innocent people are falsely accused by politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement agencies of crimes they did not commit. It is such gross human rights violations that we like to highlight. The prison in question this time is not Abu Gharib or Guantanamo but our own Adiala Prison.

Adiala prison is located in Rawalpindi. It was originally designed to house inmates but now has more than five times that number. Cramped quarters, unhygienic living conditions, unpalatable food, inadequate healthcare facilities, absence of educational inducement, denial of religious freedom, routine torture, regular gang rape and sodomy both by wardens and hardened criminals, denial of visitation rights, confiscation of gifts and food from well-wishers are

Adiala has seen many wardens over the decades. Interestingly enough each new warden brazenly flouts the law more than his predecessor. Either the government has a special training camp where senior law enforcement officials receive training on how to excel in human rights violations or these wardens are chosen from a huge list of renowned sadists. According to my experience, even President and Prime Minister of Pakistan ignore any complaints against atrocious conditions in Adiala and prefer to ignore any plea. It seems the more complains direr the situation gets. Perhaps it’s the governments’ way of reminding that they are not prepared to except any criticism of their head handed tactics.     

Christian prisoners who dare to air their grievances to the concerned authorities or for that matter human rights organizations or NGO’s face severe punishment from wardens who simply cannot tolerate whistle blowers. Just who do these prisoners turn to, to redress their grievances? Knowing the docile characteristics of Christians, wardens deliberately inflict more inhumane punishment on Christians simply to satisfy their ego as well as earn promotion for a job well done.

The Pakistan government and Pakistani electronic and print media is quick to point out the harsh treatment to prisoners in far away places like Abu Gharib or Guantanamo but prefer to close both eyes at the atrocities that occur in prisons within their own domain. The government fails to take into account that prisoners serving time in Abu Gharib or Guantanamo are war criminals or terrorists who have committed crimes against humanity and are meted out exemplary punishment, but the Christian prisoners here in Pakistan are neither terrorist nor war criminals and have never committed crimes against humanity in the name of religion or for that matter any other warped ideology. Christian prisoners are largely in prisons for minor crimes. Moreover these Christian prisoners are Pakistani citizens and deserve equal treatment as enshrined in the Constitution.

Access to prisoners to conduct proper investigation into their allegations is rare to say the least. The prison authorities will prevent outsiders from mingling with prisoners, least their deceptive and atrocious behavior will surface. Peace Worldwide want an immediate reinstatement of religious worship and regular prayer for Christians. Moreover all janitorial duties must be equally shared by all prisoners irrespective of their religious background. After all Muslim prisoners (who are in larger numbers in Adiala prison) are equally responsible for creating an unhygienic environment, so they are just as responsible for the clean up process.

Also, an access to hospital should be given to all those Christian prisoners who have suffered injuries due to the barbaric acts of prison authorities. We would also like to see all Christian prisoners provided proper healthcare facilities and are not subjected to further physical torture. An independent body should be created to oversee any human rights violations that occur in prisons all over Pakistan. Prison Wardens and other officials must either be suspended or removed from service when they are found guilty of human rights violations. These same officials must serve time in the very prison they committed these violations. International organisations should be allowed to meet regularly with all prisoners especially Christian prisoners, to better understand first-hand the situation that currently exists in Adiala Prison.  Though it is difficult for them to let these organisations visit and point out the human rights violation in the prison but if somehow any international organisation visits, they make them visit the dummy places which are free of violation and any inhumane activity and give them EVERYTHING IS OKAY report.

Enough is enough. Christians are fed up with the discriminatory, despicable and unwarranted behavior of the Pakistani government, the law enforcement agencies as well as the Muslim masses of Pakistan. Up until now Christians have been quiet on all fronts preferring to maintain the status quo but such inaction has further deteriorated the basic rights of all Christians in Pakistan.

Pakistan now enjoys a front seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Exposing their dirty laundry on the international forum will certainly infuriate their politicians and will only further confirm Pakistan status as a nation of ‘Hypocrites’. We warn government of Pakistan to correct them and follow the right path and do what is written in the jail manual and what they show to the international organisations.

Is Pakistan prepared to live with such demeaning expletive? Will ‘Enlightened Moderation’ be further strengthened or weakened by continuous human rights violations that occur regularly in Pakistan. The time has come for the Pakistani Government as well as the people of Pakistan to embrace ‘One Nation – One People’ culture which is far more difficult for both the government of Pakistan, ISI and other agencies to digest. Christians will not any longer tolerate erosion in their birth rights and demand equal status as Citizens of Pakistan. Peace Worldwide want religious freedom for Christians of Pakistan and the right to practice their religion without continuous interference from Islamists and Government of Pakistan. We also want appropriate punishment for Muslims for similar crimes that Christians unnecessarily are incarcerated for. The socio-economic picture should register an overall improvement benefiting all Pakistani citizens, not just Muslims.

We strongly urge the Government of Pakistan as well as International Human Rights organizations to help improve Pakistan’s poor human rights record. Religious extremism and racial vilification must be uprooted immediately. Senior government officials must refrain from personal prejudices while discharging their duties. Pakistan has very bad reputation. Christians would like to cooperate with the government and the people in improving the socio-economic situation, but more effort from government of Pakistan is required to achieve this objective.

Hector Aleem

Chairman

Peace Worldwide

Christian Genocide in Pakistan

Christianity is the largest minority in Pakistan but besides being the largest number of minority, they are also the largest number of persecuted nation in Pakistan. There are lots of examples of Christian persecution since the inception of Pakistan. Today, Pakistani Christians are regularly jailed, persecuted and even sentenced in false blasphemy cases. Pakistani fundamentalists are cutting the necks of Christians like street dogs, raping and abduct Christian girls. Shame on recent parliamentarians like Tahir Khalil Sandhoo and Kamran Michael who are enjoying the ministry with the ruling government, if they care even a little about their nation they should resign immediately and start working for Christians.

The recent case of Shafqat Masih is the worst example of blasphemy cases lodged against Christians because his whole family is in custody of the police and they have been shifted far away from their home city. This is the same case in which Peace Worldwide Chairman, Mr. Hector Aleem was trapped and he spent four years in prison for this offence. No Christian is such fool to send a blasphemous message to any Muslim cleric especially when they know the consequences, also, every Christian parent teaches their children not to involve their selves in any anti Islamic activity.

There are no organizations especially Christian NGOs who are helping these victims of blasphemy instead they depends upon the local NGOs who do nothing but provides false news to the international media, normally all these organizations are the agents of the government of Pakistan who provides news according to the guidance of the Government of Pakistan.

Peace Worldwide condemns the misuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan because it is creating hate and inferiority complex in the minds of Pakistani Christians, the government, the secret agencies and courts are silent when several innocent Christians are facing persecution due to blasphemy law.

Pakistan should stop genocide of Christians of Pakistan. Or else a time will come when Christians of Pakistan will consider Pakistan their enemy and will rebel against it because same concept of two nation theory applies here.

Rights group cites Syrian opposition for 'serious human rights abuses'

Armed rebels fighting the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad have committed "serious human rights abuses," an influential human rights watchdog said Tuesday.

In an open letter to leaders of the opposition, Human Rights Watch cites "increasing evidence" of kidnappings, torture and executions and calls on those forces "to refrain from engaging in these unlawful practices."

The report emerged as the death toll continued to mount in Syria, with dozens of deaths recorded Tuesday by activists. U.N. Security Council members and other world powers worked to address the crisis, which started a year ago when the government began a violent crackdown against protesters.

"We have no time to waste, no time to lose," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Indonesia. "The situation has reached unacceptable, intolerable situation now. ... I sincerely hope that the international community will continually speak in one voice and particularly the Security Council, I hope, will be able to be united so they can speak in one voice."

Al-Assad's regime has been denounced across the globe for its apparent slaughter of civilians in an attempt to quash the opposition over the last year.

The United Nations, Syrian activists and groups such as Human Rights Watch have documented widespread violations by Syrian government forces, including the widespread use of torture, arbitrary detentions and indiscriminate shelling of neighborhoods. But abuses by anti-government forces also have been documented during the crisis. 

"The Syrian government's brutal tactics cannot justify abuses by armed opposition groups," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Opposition leaders should make it clear to their followers that they must not torture, kidnap or execute under any circumstances." 

Human Rights Watch says the protest movement had been "overwhelmingly peaceful" until September, when reports emerged of military defectors and residents taking up arms to defend themselves against government raids and to strike checkpoints and security sites. 

"The intensity of the fighting has increased since early February 2012, when the government began large-scale military attacks against opposition strongholds throughout the country," the group said.

The past year has seen the formation of a resistance group of anti-government military defectors called the Free Syrian Army and a political opposition movement called the Syrian National Council.

Human Rights Watch said many of the anti-government groups reported to be carrying out abuses do not appear to belong to an organized command structure or to be following Syrian National Council orders.

"But Syria's opposition leadership has a responsibility to speak out and condemn such abuses," Human Rights Watch said. "On March 1 the SNC created a military bureau to liaise with, unify, and supervise armed opposition groups, including the Free Syrian Army," the group said.

Human Rights Watch said those kidnapped include security forces, government-supported militia members known as shabiha and their backers. Security force members and civilians also have been tortured and executed, it said.

"Certain armed attacks by opposition groups were motivated by anti-Shia or anti-Alawite sentiments arising from the association of these communities with government policies," Human Rights Watch said. Al-Assad's government is dominated by the minority Alawite community, whose faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam. About three-quarters of the Syrian population are Sunnis.

Syrian National Council member Sheikh Anas Airout notes "some exceptional situations and unfortunately these are reactions to the horrors, the crimes and the atrocities that the regime keeps committing against our people." But he told CNN that the abuses are "totally unacceptable."

"For a year now, the Syrian opposition didn't resort to any unacceptable act against any pro-Assad civilian or even the soldiers who are killing our people. We encourage our free men to show mercy to our captives because we want to prove to the world that we are better than the Assad regime and we will always be. We do not want to repeat the regime's same mistakes. Saying that, we have to keep it in mind that when we see the killing machine of Assad and his thugs slaughtering our people every hour of the day and the whole world is sitting aside and watching, we know and we understand that there would be some elements who would commit such acts."

Free Syrian Army Lt. Riad Ahmed said a "few incidents are a drop in a bucket in comparison to what the regime is committing."

"The FSA have prisoners and we treat them based on the Geneva Convention. We know that our soldiers and our civilians, men, women and children are being tortured, beaten up and even killed by the Assad thugs," Ahmed said.

The opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said at least 52 people were killed across Syria Tuesday.

The Syrian regime launched new assaults on Homs province Tuesday, killing one of the first organizers in the Syrian uprising, an opposition group said.

Heavy shelling in the city of Homs claimed the life of 23-year-old Abdul Rahman Orfalli, the Homs Coordination Committee said. The group said Orfalli helped organize the first protests in the city last March.

He had been arrested twice and tortured during a five-month detainment before returning to Homs to lead demonstrations, the group said.

The LCC reported the discovery in Idlib province of three Free Syrian Army members who had been executed, each shot in the head. The group said the men also "had insults written on their bodies."

It also said the army stormed a field hospital in Idlib and killed three members of the medical staff.

U.N. Security Council members were expected to discuss Syria in closed session on Tuesday. They could support a "presidential statement" supporting the mission of Kofi Annan, the special joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria. U.N. presidential statements aren't legally binding, like resolutions, and require unanimous support.

A five-member U.N. team with expertise in politics, peacekeeping and mediation was in Syria, according to Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general. The team will stay as long as it is making progress toward goals set by Annan, del Buey said.

The U.N. effort is viewed as an attempt to lure China and Russia -- two countries that have refused to formally condemn the Syrian regime -- to join others in pressuring Syria to cooperate with Annan, who met with al-Assad this month and laid out a series of proposals intended to end the crisis.

Russia and China have said they want an end to the violence but would not place the blame squarely on the regime. Both countries also have major trade ties with Syria.

Ban urged an end to violence by all sides, dialogue for a political solution and unhindered access for humanitarian aid workers.

U.N. officials say the Syrian crisis has killed more than 8,000 people, while opposition activists put the toll at more than 9,000 -- most of them civilians.