A tale of two Supreme Courts

Rage

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Released Indian and Pakistani prisoners describe trauma



Many of those released by India are reported to be be in a poor physical and mental condition


20 April 2011 Last updated at 05:45 ET

As tensions appear to ease between India and Pakistan following a series of diplomatic "goodwill gestures" during the cricket World Cup, both countries have authorised a series of prisoner releases. So what were conditions like for those who were incarcerated and is there any hope for those still detained? The BBC's Alastair Lawson finds out.


On the face of it, the prisoner releases by India and Pakistan should have been a time of celebration. But in reality many of those freed say they have been traumatised by their experiences and bitter that their plight was ignored for so long by their respective governments.

According to Riaz Awan - a cameraman who interviewed those released by India earlier this month - many were mentally scarred by their experiences and in poor physical condition.

"Of the 39 who were released, I would estimate that 31 had no family members to collect them when they arrived in Lahore to be picked up," he told the BBC.

"Some of them were in such a bad mental state that they were talking incoherently. Those who were capable of talking told me of the harsh conditions inside Indian jails.

"They said that they were often given dirty water to drink and that the food served to them was often inedible. Some complained of being violently treated by Indian guards - one man showed me gaps in his teeth from what he said was the result of one such assault."

Mr Awan said that many of the prisoners complained of not having access to proper medical facilities - some even complained that they were suffering from tuberculosis.

At least two prisoners told Mr Awan that they were made to remain inside jail even though the terms of their original sentencings had long since expired.


Both sides say they are eager to promote 'goodwill gestures' such as prisoner releases


One prisoner - who identified himself only as Yasin from the city of Multan - said that he had been sentenced to six years yet his release was only permitted after serving 21 years.

Another man, Abdul Somad, said that he was sentenced to seven months in jail yet ended up serving more than four years.

"The other point many of those released made very strongly to me was what they said was the complete indifference of the Pakistani government to their plight," Mr Awan said.

"They said that the main reason they were freed was not because of protests made on their behalf in Islamabad but because their cases had been highlighted and exposed by the Indian Supreme court."
'Mentally unsound'

Many of the complaints made by the Pakistani prisoners were echoed by the lawyer representing Gopal Das, the Indian released by Pakistan after serving 27 years on spying charges.

"My client would like it to be known that while there was no ill-treatment or torture in the Pakistani jail, the conditions were not good and some Indians have as a result become mentally unsound," Advocate Arvind Kumar Sharma told the BBC.

In a brief statement issued though his lawyer, Mr. Sharma, the released prisoner said that while it was wonderful to be back home, if the Indian government had acted sooner, he would have been freed much earlier.

"The government of India has consistently failed to take any initiate on behalf of Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistan jails," Mr Sharma said.

"I think this is because they do not want to admit the involvement of any Indians in spying cases. That is why in many cases they do not even admit that the accused person is an Indian citizen.

"That makes it very hard to secure the release of those still serving in Pakistani jails."

One of those who is still being held is Sarabjit Singh - currently in his 21st year in jail in Pakistan for spying and carrying out four bomb attacks for which he was sentenced to death.

British Indian lawyer, Jas Uppal has launched an international campaign to secure his release, arguing that Mr Singh has been the victim of mistaken identity.

"I am extremely optimistic that recent developments will mean that the estimated Indians serving in Pakistani jails and Pakistanis serving in Indian jails will now be freed," she said.

"Sarabjit Singh has already spent 16 years in solitary confinement and is now suffering from various infections including serious problems with his eyes.

"While his family have been pleading with Indian and Pakistani politicians for over 20 years to raise awareness of his case, the fact is that officials in both countries remain apparently unconcerned about his plight."

But things may be about to change. The two countries earlier this year agreed to work more closely in repatriating hundreds of prisoners - especially fishermen - who had inadvertently strayed across the border.

In addition they agreed to provide counsellor access to those prisoners incarcerated for more serious charges such as spying - estimated to total around 100 inmates in both countries.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13043478
 

Rage

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Pakistan Acquittals in Mukhtaran Mai gang rape case

21 April 2011 Last updated at 09:21 ET


Mukhtaran Mai still lives in her village, and runs a school for girls


Five of six men charged over a village council-sanctioned gang rape in Pakistan have been acquitted by the Supreme Court.

The court upheld the decision of a lower court, which included commuting the death penalty of the sixth man to life imprisonment.

The victim, Mukhataran Mai, hit world headlines after speaking out about her ordeal in 2002. She has since become an icon for women's rights in Pakistan.

She said she now feared for her life.

Mukhtaran Mai was her clear and unambiguous self when she spoke minutes after the verdict, the BBC's Shoaib Hasan in Pakistan said.

"The police never even recorded my own statements correctly," she said.

"I don't have any more faith in the courts. I have put my faith in God's judgement now. I don't know what the legal procedure is, but my faith [in the system] is gone.

"Yes, there is a threat to me and my family. There is a threat of death, and even of the same thing happening again. Anything can happen."

Ali Dayan Hasan of the US-based Human Rights Watch said the verdict sent a "very bad signal" across Pakistani society.

"It suggests women can be abused and even raped with impunity and those perpetrating such crimes can walk," he told the BBC.

The Supreme Court ordered the five men's immediate release - but it is not clear if they have been freed yet.

The court has yet to issue a detailed judgement. But the Lahore High Court - whose decision was upheld - had put the blame on a lack of evidence.

Our correspondent says many people say another review of the case is needed as it has had such a key impact on the rights of women in Pakistan.


Accolades

Mukhtaran Mai was attacked on the orders of the powerful Mastoi clan as a punishment because her brother - 12 at the time - had allegedly been having an affair with a Mastoi woman. This, they said, had brought shame to the entire clan.

An illiterate villager in the eastern province of Punjab, Mukhtaran Mai could have gone the way of many other Pakistani women who are raped, committing suicide.

Instead, she battled against her initial suicidal feelings and began a lengthy legal battle, which has since won her human rights accolades and an iconic status for women's rights in the country.

She runs a school for girls in her village, and has vowed that Thursday's ruling will not force her to leave her home.

"Life and death are in the hands of Allah... I will not shut my school and other projects," she told Reuters news agency.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13158001
 

Rage

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The institutional differences between the two countries are now very manifest.

I always felt that Pakistan's judiciary acted like rabble, when they took to the streets under C J Iftikhar Choudhary in 2007. This article confirms my thoughts, that they not just act like rabble, they think like rabble as well.

It takes a Supreme Court of India to stand up for the rights of poor Pakistanis. How very ironic it is!

Pakistanis, if you ever wonder why you will never truly be a 'nation', rather than just a piece of land populated by muslims, it is because of this: institutions and culture make a country, respect for ones laws and government make a country, respect for ones fatherland makes a country, not religion.
 

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