Tag: Prisoners

  • ‘Humein bhi Imran Khan wali luxuries chahiye’; prisoners demand equal treatment

    ‘Humein bhi Imran Khan wali luxuries chahiye’; prisoners demand equal treatment

    In a new development, prisoners across the province of Punjab have demanded the same special facilities provided to founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan in Adiala Jail.

    The inmates penned a letter to Punjab prisons inspector general expressing their desire to be given the same amenities as Imran Khan.

    In the letter, concerns were expressed about the “open violation” of the Prison Rules 1978 regarding the services available to the former Prime Minister.

    Khan is currently incarcerated in a better-class (B-class) facilities prison at Adiala Jail under high security due to his status of being a former ruler of the country.

    Geo News reported that there is a dedicated kitchen for preparing Khan’s meals and he occupies two of the seven special cells, typically accommodating 35 prisoners. The remaining five of the cells remain vacant for security reasons.

    The details, stated in a report submitted to the Lahore High Court by a jail superintendent last month, also include that Khan uses a yard equipped with exercise machines and other amenities for his daily walks and recreational activities.

  • Prisoners rape, kill fellow inmate in Adiala Jail

    Prisoners rape, kill fellow inmate in Adiala Jail

    Jail inmates have raped and killed a fellow prisoner in Adiala Jail, Public TV has reported.

    https://youtu.be/nT9KVGGU3J4?si=5SyxdaBRUK0mjANM

    The victim, Sabil, was first raped and then hanged to death by his fellow prisoners. He was locked in the mill of Adiala Jail Cell 2 where the harrowing incident took place.

    The jail administration has registered a complaint against four suspects who have been detained.

    According to the FIR, the victim was raped by Waqas, Asif, Naqash, and Bilal by tying his hands and feet and then killed him by putting a cloth noose around his neck.

    The Jailer has said that Waqas pressed down on Sabil’s throat and chest with his foot, quoted PNP.

    On the morning of January 1, the deceased was found lying unconscious in cell 2. His death was confirmed upon being transferred to the prison hospital. There were marks on the neck of the deceased which made the cause of death suspicious.

    Police say that the body of the deceased prisoner has been handed over to his family after an autopsy.

  • Truce between Israel and Hamas extended for two days

    Truce between Israel and Hamas extended for two days

    Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – A truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended by two days, mediator Qatar said hours before the pause was due to end Tuesday, as more hostages were freed from Gaza in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

    “The Palestinian and Israeli sides have reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian pause in Gaza for two additional days under the same conditions,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

    Militant group Hamas also confirmed the extension and Israeli media reported the government had received a new list of 10 more hostages who would be freed. However there was no official word from Israel.

    The news of the extension came as 11 more hostages were freed from Gaza overnight, along with the release of another 33 Palestinian prisoners — the last exchange under the existing deal.

    The extension of the truce, which had been scheduled to end at 7:00am (0500 GMT), was welcomed internationally.

    UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it “a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war”.

    The truce paused fighting that began when Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping dozens, according to Israeli officials.

    Israel’s retaliatory ground and air operation in Gaza has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s Hamas government.

    Late Monday, 11 hostages arrived in Israel, the country’s military said.

    “Our forces will accompany them until they are reunited with their families,” it said in a statement, adding that the military “salutes and embraces the released hostages upon their return home”.

    Most of the group are dual nationals, with Argentinians, Germans and French among those released, and all 11 were from the Nir Oz kibbutz, the community said.

    The releases brought “a sigh of relief to our community, however we remain deeply concerned about our loved ones that are still held hostage,” kibbutz official Osnat Peri said.

  • Release political opponents, urges Maulana

    Release political opponents, urges Maulana

    In a recent address at the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) social media convention in Peshawar, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of JUI-F, conveyed his desire to see imprisoned politicians released from incarceration.

    He emphasized that political parties need to direct their attention towards internal and external challenges faced by Pakistan.

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed his reluctance to organize public gatherings against his incarcerated political opponents, stating that such actions do not befit the current circumstances.

    Addressing the return of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan, Maulana Fazlur Rehman encouraged the nation to welcome him.

    He criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, asserting that his governance had led the country into an economic crisis. He also pointed out that the pending court cases against the PTI leader could result in his disqualification, preventing him from participating in future elections.

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman further highlighted the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) announcement of elections in January, asserting that holding elections is a constitutional right.

  • Fact check: Is this the cell in which Imran Khan is being detained?

    Claim: Multiple journalists including Sami Abraham and Sabir Shakir have implied in their tweets that Imran Khan is being held in a derelict jail cell, complete with a picture of a dark jail cell.

    Sara Taseer, daughter of late Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, also took to X (formerly Twitter) on October 1, writing:

    “This is what you call “zameen tang”. This inhumane treatment for the man you has given so much for the name fame betterment for #Pakistan I’m so ashamed to call myself Pakistani today. I never thought I’d ever feel this way. #ImranFightingForPakistan”

    The picture of the cell was quite disturbing, with peeling paint, a dark interior and derelict walls.

    Journalist Sami Abraham also tweeted the same picture.

    However, this is not actually Imran Khan’s cell.

    This photo was published by Jeannie Adams in ‘DOING TIME – MISSOURI STATE PENITENTIARY TOUR 26 JUL 2017’

    The cell picture shared by these accounts is actually in Missouri, from a now-closed facility where prisoners on suicide watch were detained.

    Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been recently shifted to Adiala Jail and is being tried for the Cipher case.

    True or False: The claim is false.

  • Jail reforms: Bakeries to be established in Punjab prisons

    Jail reforms: Bakeries to be established in Punjab prisons

    The Punjab care-taker government has decided to decision has been made to establish bakeries in prisons across Punjab to enroll the inmates in different courses.

    The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi.

    During the meeting, it was decided to initiate a program for setting up bakeries in prisons with the cooperation of volunteers.

    During the meeting, it was decided that in the initial phase, a bakery will be established in Lahore’s Camp Jail.

    According to the decisions made in the meeting, the duration of monthly telephone calls for prisoners has been increased to 300 minutes.

    Modern kitchens, laundry rooms, meeting rooms, and facilities will be built in 16 jails.

    Toyota and the Jail Department have also reached an agreement to provide technical courses to prisoners in 10 more jails.

    Chief Operating Officer of Toyota, Ahmed Khawar, and Inspector General of Prisons, Farooq Nazir, have signed the agreement.

    Under this agreement, prisoners in 10 additional jails in Punjab will undergo 16 Toyota courses.

    Upon completion of the courses lasting from 3 to 6 months, prisoners will be awarded certificates, and leniency may be granted in their sentences.

  • Pakistani nationals convicted of violating sanctity of Masjid-e-Nabawi released on PM Shehbaz’s request

    Pakistani nationals convicted of violating sanctity of Masjid-e-Nabawi released on PM Shehbaz’s request

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has thanked the Crown Prince of Saudia Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman for releasing Pakistani nationals convicted of violating the sanctity of Masjid-e-Nabawi (PBUH).

    “I am deeply grateful to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, who, on my request, ordered the release of the Pakistanis arrested in Saudi Arabia for the April 2022 incident. I pray to Allah Almighty to make us better Muslims who forgive each other’s mistakes,” tweeted the premier.

    The crown prince ordered the release of all the Pakistanis who were imprisoned in the hooliganism in Masjid Nabawi (PBUH).

    Shehbaz Sharif had requested the Saudi Crown Prince to release the Pakistanis arrested for the incident, asking him to forgive the people.

    Earlier in August, at least six Pakistani nationals were convicted of violating the sanctity of the Masjid-e-Nabawi (PBUH) in Madinah during PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

    According to media reports, a court in Madinah gave three Pakistani nationals — Anas, Irshad, and Muhammad Saleem — 10 years of jail term, while the other three — Khawaja Luqman, Muhammad Afzal, and Ghulam Muhammad — had been given eight-year sentences.

    A fine of Saudi Riyal 20,000 each had been imposed on the convicts and their mobile phones were also confiscated.

    In April, during PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia, a group of protesters, suspected to be supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), chanted slogans of “chor, chor (thieves)” when they saw the Premier and Information Minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb.

    Responding to the incident in Saudi Arabia, Aurangzeb said that there was a specific group that chanted those slogans. She also said that she prayed for those people at Masjid-e-Nabawi (PBUH).

    In videos that were widely shared on social media, the Pakistani delegation, including Marriyum Aurangzeb and Shahzain Bugti, was seen surrounded by people yelling “chor chor”.

  • Clash in Muzaffarabad jail due to unavailability of facilities

    A protest by the prisoners of Rara Central Jail in Muzaffarabad turned into a clash between the police and the prisoners on Saturday, reports Samaa News.

    The clash started when some prisoners turned violent and started a fight with the security personnel.

    The prisoners were protesting against the unavailability of facilities for the past few days. However, no casualty has been reported so far.

    The police summoned additional forces to keep the situation under control and started searching for the prisoners who initially started the fight.

    Last year, a clash was also reported in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi. The clash was between two groups that led to the transfer of 23 convicted and under-trial prisoners to other jails and the suspension of 11 jail officials, including two superintendents.

  • Fact Check: Sri Lankan ministers were not stripped and interrogated

    Fact Check: Sri Lankan ministers were not stripped and interrogated

    Claim: Sri Lankan ministers were stripped down, beaten and harassed by the public.

    Fact: This video shows Sri Lankan inmates of an open prison who are being interrogated for allegedly attacking protesters

    On May 13, 2022 several social media users in Pakistan tweeted a video showing a group of half-naked men pleading a larger crowd as the people making the video seemed to be humiliating them. This video was shared extensively on WhatsApp. Some of these posts and tweets on social media can be seen here, here, here, here and here.

    However, The Current Check observed that this video was being used out of context, with the caption that it depicts Sri Lankan ministers being humiliated by the public for participating in widespread corruption.

    Through a reverse image search of six different keyframes of the video, we discovered that it was first tweeted on May 10, 2022 by Sri Lankan Twitter users claiming that this was a video of prisoners who attacked the protesters at Gota Go Gama. Soon after the video was first posted on Twitter, several Sri Lankan news channels including Daily Mirror, News First and others such as NDTV also started covering it and reporting it to belong to an instance of interrogating prisoners who attacked protesters. According to a translation of the video shared by India Today it becomes clear that these prisoners were from Watareka Open Prison Camp and a jailer had taken them to the protest site. This was a protest against former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who along with his family is on the run as Sri Lanka slips deeper into economic downfall and political turmoil.

    VERDICT: FALSE [OUT OF CONTEXT]

  • Want a hotshot space in jail? Report reveals bribery makes influential prisoners live easy

    Want a hotshot space in jail? Report reveals bribery makes influential prisoners live easy

    It has been revealed in a report that the powerful and rich class in prison are bribing guards for special perks and facilities.

    A team led by Director-General (DG) Human Rights visited the jails and submitted its report to the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

    The report said that prison officials acknowledge that they are under intense political pressure. It has also been revealed that influential prisoners from Jhelum and Mianwali are being kept in Adiala Jail due to pressure from the Home Department. The report also revealed that inmates of Bhakkar Jail had provided evidence of money transfer to jail authorities.

    According to the report, the brother of one of the prisoners gave evidence of giving one lakh 40,000 to a jail guard.

    The report further suggests that prison officials are not aware of basic human rights. The prison meeting registers also indicate discrimination against inmates for meeting times and frequencies.

    The report also states that when senior police and prison officials are shown around the premises, not all that is shown and told is true. The report recommends training in human rights for prison officials.