JURIST - Paper Chase: More Pakistan bar leaders jailed under emergency: HRCP

[JURIST] Two more leaders of the Pakistani bar have been arrested in Sindh province, according to a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan statement [text] Tuesday. Former Sindh high court bar association presidents Akhter Hussain and Abdul Hafeez Lakho were taken into custody and ordered to be detained for 90 days in Karachi's Central Prison. HRCP says: "These two were managing the lawyers’ movement after the arrest of Mr. Abrar Hassan, the current President of the [Sindh] Bar. The spade [sic] of arrest of lawyers in the cities and interior of Sindh is continuing." HRCP has posted a partial list of persons arrested since the declaration of emergency on November 3, including many top lawyers, rights activists, and opposition figures. Some have been released, but many remain in detention. HRCP has also posted a list of lawyers jailed in Karachi itself compiled by one of the detained lawyers.

HRCP chairperson Asma Jahangir claimed in a statement Thursday that some Pakistani lawyers detained by the government under the declaration of emergency rule are being tortured [JURIST report]. Jahangir herself, who is also UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, is currently under house arrest.

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