Dear ___,
I am reaching out concerning a case of repression in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan. The outrageous persecution of peaceful protestors has been condemned by human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Genocide Watch.
On 10 March, a wave of arrests was launched targeting leaders of the ‘Awami Action Committee Gilgit-Baltistan’ (a community-led campaign group) including its chairman, 70-year-old lawyer Ehsan Ali, who was seized during a nighttime raid at his home.
The AAC leaders were arrested after allegedly making “anti-state” speeches during an Iftar dinner on 8 March.
Snap elections have been called in Gilgit-Baltistan for 7 June, leading Amnesty International to accuse Pakistani authorities of a targeted curtailment of “freedom of movement, association, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression” ahead of the campaign period.
In a statement, Amnesty notes Ehsan Ali’s deteriorating physical health and underlying heart condition, concluding that his “continued detention has raised grave concerns regarding his right to life and due process.”
The statement continues:
“Despite applications filed by his lawyers requesting hospitalization, Ehsan Ali was denied appropriate medical care until his condition drastically worsened.
“Amnesty International calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release all detained AAC activists and drop all charges against them related to their peaceful activism.
“Arbitrary detentions of AAC members must not be used to curtail the rights guaranteed under international human rights law.”
Hundreds of politicians, trade unions and public figures have already called for the AAC leaders’ release, including former Greek Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis, MP and ex-British Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, philosopher Slavoj Žižek and the British Medical Association.
Campaigners for justice claim the prisoners have faced torture in captivity, as well as attempts to extort false confessions.
They further allege that a senior police officer in Gilgit-Baltistan was informed about Ehsan Ali’s critical health condition and responded: “Leave it, there are orders from above … let him die.”
The AAC’s supporters have held multiple protests outside of Pakistani embassies, consulates and high commissions in over a dozen countries and have delivered letters of protest to diplomatic staff.
Ehsan Ali and the AAC has fought tirelessly on behalf of ordinary people for over a decade, campaigning for democratic rights, for the maintenance of subsidies on basic goods like wheat flour and for the provision of basic health and education facilities for the people of the region. The AAC has also resisted the environmental destruction inflicted on the territory.
Their arrest and abuse in jail are a grave violation of their human rights and international law.
I respectfully request that you take the following actions:
- Sign the petition calling for the release of Ehsan Ali and the AAC.
- Write a public statement either for social media or to the campaign organisers at contact@pakistansolidarity.org.
- Move a motion in parliament calling for justice for Ehsan Ali and the AAC.
Regards,
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Address:
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