Source/Credit: Amnesty International
By AI | June 20, 2011
Journalists were harassed, ill-treated and killed by state agents and members of anti-government armed groups. State agents failed to protect journalists from attacks by armed groups; 19 media workers were killed, making Pakistan the most dangerous country for media workers in 2010, according to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists. The authorities blocked some online news sites.
- Umar Cheema, journalist with The News, reported that he had been abducted and held for six hours on 4 September. He was taken blindfolded to the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, stripped naked, hung upside down and beaten by people who warned him about criticizing the government. Prime Minister Gilani ordered a judicial inquiry and the Lahore High Court took notice of the case of its own accord but by the end of the year, no one was held to account.
- Misri Khan Orakzai, aged 50, of the Daily Ausaf in Hangu city, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on 13 September after receiving several death threats from insurgents.
- On 8 November, access to the online news site Baloch Hal was blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority for allegedly publishing "anti-Pakistan" material. The site covered human rights violations including enforced disappearances.
- On 18 November, the bodies of 24-year-old Abdul Hameed Hayatan, a journalist at Daily Karachi and Tawar, and Hamid Ismail were found in Turbat city, Balochistan. The whereabouts of the two men had remained unknown after their arrest at a security forces checkpoint near Gwadar city on 25 October. Their bodies bore torture marks. Nearby a message was found, saying: "Eid present for the Baloch people."
Read original post here: Annual Report: Pakistan 2011 | Freedom of expression
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