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Amnesty urges war crimes probe over Israel levelling east Gaza

The London-based rights group said the levelling since the start of the war on October 7 “should be investigated as war crimes of wanton destruction …reports Asian Lite News

Amnesty International Thursday urged a war crimes probe into Israel razing homes and farms in eastern Gaza to expand a so-called buffer zone between it and the Palestinian territory.

“Using bulldozers and manually laid explosives, the Israeli military has unlawfully destroyed agricultural land and civilian buildings, razing entire neighborhoods, including homes, schools and mosques,” it said.

The London-based rights group said the levelling since the start of the war on October 7 “should be investigated as war crimes of wanton destruction and of collective punishment.”

Israel has in several cases said it was destroying “terror” infrastructure to protect Israeli communities living on the other side of the fence. It did not reply to a request from Amnesty for comment.

An Amnesty investigation, which examined satellite imagery and videos posted by Israeli soldiers between October and May, showed “newly cleared land along Gaza’s eastern boundary, ranging from approximately 1 to 1.8 km (0.6 to 1.1 miles) wide,” the group said.

The expanded buffer zone covers around 58 square kilometers (22 square miles), or about 16 percent of the Gaza Strip, it said.

More than 90 percent of buildings within that zone appeared to have been destroyed or severely damaged, it said.

More than half of the agricultural land in the area showed “a decline in health and intensity of crops due to the ongoing conflict,” it added.

“Our analysis reveals a pattern along the eastern perimeter of Gaza that is consistent with the systematic destruction of the entire area,” said Amnesty’s Erika Guevara-Rosas.

“The homes were not destroyed as the result of intense fighting. Rather, the Israeli military deliberately razed the land after they had taken control of the area,” she added.

“Israeli measures to protect Israelis from attacks from Gaza must be carried out in conformity with its obligations under international law including the prohibition of wanton destruction and of collective punishment.”

Palestinian armed group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians and including hostages killed in captivity, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed more than 40,800 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

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Baloch Protest Crackdown Draws Amnesty’s Ire

Amnesty International urged Pakistani authorities to promptly and unequivocally dismiss all charges against individuals solely charged for exercising their right to freedom of expression….reports Asian Lite News


Amnesty Asia, a worldwide human rights organization, denounced the apprehension and imprisonment of individuals involved in the Baloch protest in Dera Ghazi Khan on Monday, expressing concern over the arrests made against those who sought to speak out against terrorism and brutality inflicted upon the Baloch people.

Taking to X, Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office, said, “Amnesty strongly condemns the arrest and detention of at least 20 participants of the Baloch march on December 17 in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab. The protestors, many of them women and families of the forcibly disappeared, peacefully held a sit-in and, subsequently, started a long march from Balochistan to Islamabad demanding justice and accountability after the extrajudicial killing of Balach Mola Bakhsh and three others by the Pakistan Counterterrorism Department (CTD) in Turbat, Balochistan, on November 23, 2023.”

The group also informed that a 24-year-old Baloch man was taken by law enforcement on October 29 and was in CTD custody on remand when he was extrajudicially executed.

Moreover, the protestors have been released; however, three separate cases against the organizers and participants have been filed.

Amnesty International also demanded that the Pakistani authorities immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against the people who were charged solely for expressing their right to freedom of expression.

It said, “Conduct an impartial investigation of all extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan, in line with international standards. – Compensate families of victims of extrajudicial killings and those who forcibly disappeared.”

Meanwhile, the Balochistan Yakjehti Council will continue its long march against alleged genocide by Pakistani forces on the people of Balochistan after it called off a sit-in at Dera Gazi Khan on Monday night. The Baloch Long March will now start to move towards Islamabad today, according to Dawn.

The marchers started their journey from Turbat under the banner of the Baloch Yakjehti Council (BYC) and staged a sit-in in Dera Ghazi Khan after several students and protesters were arrested for breaking a local ban on gatherings.

In an effort to persuade the authorities that the long march was not against local authority, the marchers staged a sit-in at Pakistan Crossing, delaying traffic.

As a result, police freed all of the detainees but did not cancel the FIRs filed against them, according to Dawn News Pakistan. (ANI)

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Amnesty slams Pak over enforced disappearance of Idris Khattak

AI asked Pakistan’s authorities to provide details of the case to the family, give him access to lawyers, and produce him before a civilian court for deciding about lawfulness of his arrest and detention….reports Asian Lite News

 Pakistan human rights and political activist Idris Khattak has been convicted of espionage and sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment, Dawn reported.

“Khattak was found guilty of espionage and leaking of sensitive information by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM). He was handed down a 14-year rigorous jail term,” the report said.

The verdict was pronounced this week after the trial concluded in Jhelum.

The report said he was tried under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act, 1923. He was accused of providing sensitive information to a foreign intelligence agency.

Khattak remained associated with Amnesty International and had investigated enforced disappearances in erstwhile tribal areas and Balochistan.

He was travelling from Islamabad to Peshawar on November 13, 2019 when he was picked up by an intelligence agency. After nearly six months of public campaign by his family and filing of a habeas corpus petition at the Peshawar High Court, the defence ministry on June 16, 2020 admitted that he was in military’s custody and had been charged with treason under the Official Secrets Act, the report said.

In a reaction to Khattak’s sentencing, Amnesty International’s Deputy South Asia Director Thyagi Ruwanpathirana said: “Idris Khattak’s family and lawyer are being kept in the dark by the Pakistani authorities about the exact status of his case and reported conviction, violating the right to fair trial and due process and making it impossible for them to plan any legal recourse.”

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“If his conviction is confirmed, it will be the culmination of a shameful two-year process that has been unjust from start to finish,” the AI official said.

Few details about the case against him had been disclosed, the official said, while according to his lawyer, the proceedings were ‘deeply flawed’.

AI asked Pakistan’s authorities to provide details of the case to the family, give him access to lawyers, and produce him before a civilian court for deciding about lawfulness of his arrest and detention.

Khattak’s brother later filed a petition with the Peshawar High Court seeking an end to his trial by the military court. The high court, however, on Jan 28, 2021 rejected the appeal.

Meanwhile, three retired military officers were given varying jail sentences by another FGCM in Rawalpindi.

According to the security source, Lt Col (retd) Faiz Rasool was given 14 years rigorous imprisonment, Lt Col (retd) Akmal 10 years rigorous imprisonment, and Maj (retd) Saifuddin 12 years rigorous imprisonment.

All three officers were also convicted of espionage and leaking sensitive information, the report said.

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Amnesty hits out at Pakistan over enforced disappearances

Amnesty International spoke to the family members of 10 people whose fate remains unknown after they were abducted by Pakistan’s security services….reports Asian Lite News

Pakistani authorities must end their abhorrent use of enforced disappearance, said Amnesty International detailing the practices devastating impact on the families of those who have gone missing.

The report documents how enforced disappearance, a crime under international law in which state agents deny holding an individual or refuse to provide information on their fate or whereabouts, not only violates the human rights of the individuals who are disappeared, but also impacts affected families’ mental and physical health, financial status, and security, as well as leading to stigma and social isolation.

Although cases have been documented as far back as the mid-1980s, the practice has been routinely used by Pakistan’s intelligence services since the inception of the so-called “War on Terror” in 2001, to target human rights defenders, political activists, students, and journalists, with the fate of hundreds of victims still unknown.

A proposed amendment to outlaw enforced disappearance has been mired in the legislative process for more than two and a half years and the current iteration does not conform with international human rights law and best practices.

“Enforced disappearance is a cruel practice that has caused indelible pain to hundreds of families in Pakistan over the past two decades. On top of the untold anguish of losing a loved one and having no idea of their whereabouts or safety, families endure other long-term effects including ill-health and financial problems,” said Rehab Mahamoor, Amnesty International’s Acting South Asia Researcher.

“It’s a punishment without end that Pakistan’s authorities must consign to history. As well as expediting the criminalization of enforced disappearance through legislation in line with international human rights law, the authorities must immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of all victims to their families and release those still being held.”

Amnesty International spoke to the family members of 10 people whose fate remains unknown after they were abducted by Pakistan’s security services.

Each of them described resultant stress-related health issues including high blood pressure, cardiac conditions, and gastro-intestinal illnesses.

Affected families also suffer financial consequences, as the disappeared are invariably the main breadwinner. In three cases documented by Amnesty International, the children of those disappeared had been forced to drop out of school due to the loss of family income or stigma.

Sultan Mahmood, whose two brothers were abducted in 2014 and 2021 respectively, told Amnesty International that losing two sources of family income, combined with the legal costs of trying to secure the return of his brothers, had left him in debt of 2.5 million PKR ($15,000), forcing him to sell all of his assets, including his home.

In another case, the younger sister of Sammi Baloch, a prominent activist against enforced disappearance whose father was disappeared by the authorities in 2009, was prevented from sitting exams at a college in Balochistan managed by the army, after officials became aware who she was related to.

The families of those forcibly disappeared often face an impossible choice between staying silent in the aftermath of an abduction or risking the loss of their loved one forever. Intimidation and harassment from the authorities can follow them for years after a disappearance has taken place and sometimes continues after the person is returned. This can be in the form of heavy-handed surveillance, threatening calls from blocked numbers and even phishing attacks on personal devices.

Amnesty International also interviewed victims of enforced disappearance, including Inaam Abbasi, who was held for 10 months following his abduction in August 2017. The physical torture he was subjected to has left him with a host of health issues, including chronic joint pain, high blood pressure and suspected post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be triggered by events such as a doorbell ringing.

“I believe that someone has come to take me away again,” he told Amnesty.

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