PAKISTAN: Ahmadi Leader Tortured to Death in Police Custody

Salem-News.com Eye on the World report.

This is reported to be the police station at Chenab Nagar, also known as Rabwah, where the torture death took place. Photo credit/learn more: panoramio.com

(HONG KONG) - The suspects in the dramatic police custody torture death of a school teacher in Punjab province, are two police inspectors, two officers, and a deputy police superintendent with the Chenab Nagar police station.

The 43-year old victim is Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, a well respected teacher from the Ahmadiyya sect. The incident was reported on 30 March 2012. He is said to have been kept in the illegal captivity of police for 35 days during which time he was tortured without mercy; hung upside down by his ankles for long periods, and forced to lay flat on his back while a heavy wooden roller, similar to those used to flatten cricket pitches, was rolled over his body. His captors stood on either side making sure he could not escape the torment. Such inhumane and merciless treatment led to multiple organ failures and other physical injuries.

The aforementioned methods of torture are but a few examples of the torment inflicted on him in a demonstration of hatred against the Ahmadis by the law enforcers.

The world has its own set of laws that were agreed upon by the ruling nations in 1948, and many people are not aware of this simple fact. At the root of the concept of world citizenry itself, is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an overriding and supreme law that ensures many essential human rights that governments today fail to observe.

Also central to any hope of human success, is the understanding of the human hierarchy of needs, as defined by Abraham Maslow- more information on this at the conclusion of this entry. We must use the Internet as a tool of justice at every junction, and we need to assist all human beings, everywhere, and not allow cultural, racial or religious preferences as determiners.

In his letter to Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan in Islamabad, Mr. William Gomes asks the Pakistani President to conduct a judicial inquiry into the illegal detention and torture of Mr Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, and prosecute all the officials of the Chenab Nagar police station on charges of torture and the murder. He also urges the exposure of torture cells in the police station and the suspension all the police officers of the district until the completion of the judicial inquiry. Needless to say, it is also imperative that the government ensures the safety and security of the family members and see that a proper autopsy is conducted with the assistance of forensic experts.

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April 3, 2012 Mr. Asif Ali Zardari President of Pakistan President’s Secretariat Islamabad PAKISTAN Tel: +92 51 9204801-9214171 Fax +92 51 9207458 Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk Re: PAKISTAN: Ahmadi leader tortured to death in police custody Dear President of Pakistan, Name of victim: Mr Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, a school teacher, resident of Chenab Nagar (Rabwah), Punjab province Names of alleged perpetrators: 1. Mr. Sujhat Ali, Sub Inspector of Police 2. Mr. Manazar Ali, Sub Inspector of Police 3. Mr. Khadim Hussain, Station House Officer (SHO) All are attached to the Chenab Nagar police station, Punjab province 4. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Chenab Nagar, Punjab province 5. District Police Officer of Chenab Nagar, Punjab province Date of incident: 30 March 2012 Place of incident: Chenab Nagar, Punjab province I am shocked to know that he was kept in the illegal captivity of police for 35 days during which time he was tortured without mercy. The victim was was hung upside down by his ankles for long periods. On other occasions he was forced to lay flat on his back while a heavy wooden roller, similar to those used to flatten cricket pitches, was rolled over his body. His captors stood on either side making sure he could not escape the torment. Such inhumane and merciless treatment led to multiple organ failure and other physical injuries. The aforementioned methods of torture are but a few examples of the torment inflicted on him in a demonstration of hatred against the Ahmadis by the law enforcers. I have learned that Mr. Abdul Qudoos Ahmad (43), a well respected school teacher, belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect was tortured to death while in police custody in Chenab Nagar (the Ahmadi community refers to it by its old name of Rabwah), Punjab province. He was taken into custody by the police on 10 February 2012 and was kept in a private torture cell of the police until 26 March when his condition deteriorated due to the severe torture he endured. He remained in police custody for 46 days with any charges being laid against him and was not officially arrested. He was forced to confess to the murder of one, Muhammad Yousuf, a stamp-paper seller from the Nusrat Abad area who was murdered a few months earlier. During the illegal detention Mr. Qudoos was deprived from access to any the legal aid was not provided. I am appalled that during the illegal dentition Mr. Qudoos was denied access to any legal assistance. The police officials continued the torture throughout the illegal detention and when Mr. Qudoos’ physical condition deteriorated due to the heartless and callous treatment the police forced a family member to place his signature of a piece of blank paper and take him back home. Mr. Qudoos was released on 26 March, 2012 and his family sought immediate medical attention for him. Despite the best efforts of the family and doctors he was unable to recover and on 30 March, 2012 he passed away in the hospital. Typically, as is the custom of the police, the version filed by the police named only two subordinate officers in their report. SHO Khadim Hussain of the Chenab Nagar police registered a police case only against sub inspectors, Sujhat Ali and Manazar Ali, under sections 302, 148, 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. In this manner, impunity was assured to the real murderers including SHO Khadim Hussain and other police officials. It is with the connivance of a provincial law minister that the Punjab provincial police have been able to hide the criminal practice of the police of keeping suspects in illegal detention for months during which time they are tortured to get confessional statements and bribes. The provincial law minister has been instrumental in sheltering the high officials of the police from involvement in these heinous crimes. These officers include the District Police Officer (DPO), the highest police officer of the district, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), under whom the police station of Chenab Nagar comes, and the officer in charge of the police station, SHO Khadim Hussain. I am sure that the brother-in-law of the victim, Mr. Imtiaz Ahmed was very distressed when he stated that Mr. Qudoos’ was brutally tortured during interrogations, causing severe internal injuries. He accused the police that when the teacher was released the police threatened the family members to hush up the matter. According to Mr. Imtiaz Mr. Qudoos was admitted to a local hospital where he died due to excessive loss of blood. How can the police expect anyone to believe that a man could be kept in a police station for 46 days and continuously tortured and the SHO and other high officials including the DSP of the concerned police station knew nothing about the incident. This criminal act by the district police has been covered up under guise of releasing the prisoner to hide the illegal and supra constitutional behavior of the police. It is also incredible to learn that the Punjab government has yet not started any investigation in to the incident of arbitrary detention, torture and misuse of police power against the concerned police officers. It is a very well known fact the provincial government and particularly the provincial law minister have connections with Muslim fundamentalists groups and banned Islamic organizations who are very much against the Ahmadis and who have been involved in the killings of Ahmadis and Shias, the second largest Muslim sect. The illegal dentition and torture clearly violated the procedural law, specifically Section 61 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1898 “No police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without a warrant for a longer period than under all circumstances of the case is reasonable, and such period shall not, in the absence of a special order of a magistrate under Section 167, exceed 24 hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate’s Court.” . The procedural law stated that a person arrested not be detained more than 24 hours but Mr.Qudoos was illegally detained for 46 days. Torture is not criminalized in Pakistan. In absence of the anti torture law and loop hole in the substantive and procedural laws in Pakistan, law enforcement agencies are enjoying full impunity. The police are using torture as their daily method of extracting information and bribes from the accused in their custody. Several sections of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1898 including Section 46 (2- 3) need to amended and specially sections 54 & 55 extend the police powers over persons who are still to be declared as accused, by permitting arrest without warrant. Specifically in this case Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad was arrested without warrant and tortured to death. Please note I have written separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions calling for their intervention into this matter. I therefore urge you to conduct a judicial inquiry into the illegal detention and torture of a school teacher from Ahmadi sect and prosecute all the officials of the Chenab Nagar police station and DPO on the charges of torture and the murder of an innocent teacher. I also urge to unearth the torture cells from the police station and suspend all the police officers of the district until the completion of the judicial inquiry. Also please ensure the safety and security of the family members and see that a proper autopsy is conducted with the assistance of forensic experts. Yours sincerely, William Nicholas Gomes William’s Desk www.williamgomes.org

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs

As children we are educated in right and wrong, we are told how to conduct ourselves; we learn both expectations and limitations, and from that point we go forth with these tools, and our individual personalities, and fail or succeed accordingly.

In school we quickly understand that without paper, there is no place to write. Once we have paper, a pen or pencil is required to move to the next point. There is a great analogy that exists between this simple concept of paper and pen, and what we know today as Maslow's hierarchy of needs- the theory in psychology proposed in Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.

He demonstrated how without the correct necessities, a person can do little good for themselves, and has none to offer for others. However when people are housed and have clothing, heat, food, health and security, anything is possible. However if just one of these dynamics is removed from the mix, the chance for success can be adversely affected.

Wikipedia describes Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a pyramid consisting of five levels:

The lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose.

The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer be met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

For instance, a businessman at the esteem level who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission.

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Special thanks to William's Desk

williamgomes.org

Salem-News.com Writer William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.