A human rights group slammed the Israeli treatment of female Palestinian prisoners in a UN-sponsored report released, saying pregnant women are often shackled on their way to hospitals to give birth.
The female prisoners are held in “Israeli prisons and detention centres which were designed for men and do not respond to female needs,” said a report by the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, which was sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
Pregnant detainees “do not enjoy preferential treatment in terms of diet, living space or transfer to hospitals,” it said. “Pregnant prisoners are also chained to their beds until they enter delivery rooms and shackled once again after giving birth.
“The unbalanced diet, insufficient amounts of protein-rich foods, lack of natural sunlight and movement, poor ventilation and moisture all contribute to the exacerbation and the development of health problems such as skin diseases, anaemia, asthma, prolonged stomach aches, joint and back pains.”
In addition, the majority of the prisoners were “subjected to some form of mental pressure and torture through the process of their arrest,” including beatings, insults, threats, sexual harassment and humiliation techniques.
The vast majority of Palestinian women in Israeli prisons are young — some 13 percent of those arrested in 2007-2008 were under the age of 18 and 56 percent were between 20 and 30 years of age.
The detainees are often denied means to study, which violates their rights to a higher education and suffer from restrictions on visits.
In September 2008, some 60 percent had at least one family member who was not allowed to visit them. Open visits were restricted to mothers once their children reached the age of six.
Female prisoners with a husband or other relatives also in jail were “accorded the right to family visits… after months of delays.”
In addition, the Israeli prison authorities do not provide gender-sensitive rehabilitation programmes, it said.
The report was based on interviews with 125 Palestinian women who were arrested, detained or imprisoned in Israeli jails between November 2007 and November 2008. Of those, some 65 remain in prison — part of some 9,000 Palestinians currently incarcerated in Israel.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Musharraf to go on Trial
The self proclaimed emperor of Pakistan, the very person who ruled this land for 9 years at his free will, is all set to face the music of justice, which he hated so much personally. The debate was on from the day he left the office, or more precisely the day he surrendered to the popular will, that he should be brought to justice for the sins he had committed.
Till now, all we could hear was Mush and the electricity bill scandal, but finally he has been taken by the neck for precisely his 3rd November act, where he imposed emergency in the country, ransacked an entire system known as judiciary and sent Pakistan into turmoil, from where we have yet to recover. Agreed!
But before going any further into what future holds for him once under trial, its better to point what implications are attached with this trial, which is no wonder a historic moment, as in the past elements like him have hijacked the entire identity and founding principles of this nation, and yet they have departed gracefully after that.
The complexities for this case are no different from what we have seen in BB’s murder, where one after another hidden actors and conspiracies have derailed the entire proceedings. In case of Musharraf its hard to come with a clear charge sheet, as one after another his reign is filled with brutalities and actions which were in no way directed to help or accommodate Pakistan. Even before his showdown at the top office on October 12, Kargil episode still stands as a mystery. It is yet to be decided who was the architect of that operation, which caused so much diplomatic humiliation as well as loss of lives. His coming into power, the whole hijacking drama followed by Martial Law clearly shows that an international campaign accommodated his seizure of power.
If this seems puzzling, unfortunately its just the start. His alliance with US after 9/11 is also a big question mark. Where it has been debated that we had no other option and the so called most civilized country was all set to transform us into “stone age”, we are yet comparing how much different we are after that. A nuclear power with no sovereignty, economy, power and foreign policy, isn’t it what we term as a modern stone age society? And ofcourse its his legacy and policy. On criminal grounds, he has his hands filled with Lal Masjid massacre and Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder. If this is not all, don’t forget that the war we are fighting today was never our war, and it was his short term policies which has brought this menace into our own home land, and no doubt it has today become our war of survival.
History will also term his as a General who compromised Kashmir for good. By terming the freedom struggle as a terrorist movement, he betrayed the blood of thousands who died fighting for this cause. But to give the devil his due, I must claim that he still qualifies for Indian Medal of Humanity Service for releasing a spy like Kashmir Singh and stopped short of the same with Sarbajeet. This charge sheet can go on as long as we desire, but lets cut it short. The reality is that odds favour the fact that this trial is too complex and a lot of foreign elements will not enable it to take place in the transparent way. But the more scary fact is this that the trial can land some very important institute in Pakistan into a conflict with the rest, and the consequences for this can be very fatal for the democracy which is still a bit novice in Pakistan.
A new breath has been filled to those who support his immediate trial after US Envoy Halbrooke gave a clear signal that US considers it an internal matter of Pakistan, but don’t buy American words. Mush’s legacy is closely linked with US aspiration and game plan in this region. His coming into power, his smooth sail initially, happening of 9/11, US intervention into Pakistan and BB murder, they all are tied with the same string. Though Americans are famous for disposing their special friends gracefully as we saw in General Zia’s case, this time around it seems that they have a different frame of mind. The government presently is supporting this stance and Raza Rabbani recently recorded a very harsh statement against Musharaff, its difficult to understand how they can proceed with this initiative, where it is clear that they were also largely facilitated by his blessings.
To sum up, if this trial happens, it will be the trial of the century along with some very intresting or rather horrific surprises attached with it. From one trouble to another, it seems that too many cooks are preparing food in the executive kitchen. They have yet to sort Swat and Wana, 17th Amendment and other crisis. A new frontier at this stage, seems intresting.
Till now, all we could hear was Mush and the electricity bill scandal, but finally he has been taken by the neck for precisely his 3rd November act, where he imposed emergency in the country, ransacked an entire system known as judiciary and sent Pakistan into turmoil, from where we have yet to recover. Agreed!
But before going any further into what future holds for him once under trial, its better to point what implications are attached with this trial, which is no wonder a historic moment, as in the past elements like him have hijacked the entire identity and founding principles of this nation, and yet they have departed gracefully after that.
The complexities for this case are no different from what we have seen in BB’s murder, where one after another hidden actors and conspiracies have derailed the entire proceedings. In case of Musharraf its hard to come with a clear charge sheet, as one after another his reign is filled with brutalities and actions which were in no way directed to help or accommodate Pakistan. Even before his showdown at the top office on October 12, Kargil episode still stands as a mystery. It is yet to be decided who was the architect of that operation, which caused so much diplomatic humiliation as well as loss of lives. His coming into power, the whole hijacking drama followed by Martial Law clearly shows that an international campaign accommodated his seizure of power.
If this seems puzzling, unfortunately its just the start. His alliance with US after 9/11 is also a big question mark. Where it has been debated that we had no other option and the so called most civilized country was all set to transform us into “stone age”, we are yet comparing how much different we are after that. A nuclear power with no sovereignty, economy, power and foreign policy, isn’t it what we term as a modern stone age society? And ofcourse its his legacy and policy. On criminal grounds, he has his hands filled with Lal Masjid massacre and Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder. If this is not all, don’t forget that the war we are fighting today was never our war, and it was his short term policies which has brought this menace into our own home land, and no doubt it has today become our war of survival.
History will also term his as a General who compromised Kashmir for good. By terming the freedom struggle as a terrorist movement, he betrayed the blood of thousands who died fighting for this cause. But to give the devil his due, I must claim that he still qualifies for Indian Medal of Humanity Service for releasing a spy like Kashmir Singh and stopped short of the same with Sarbajeet. This charge sheet can go on as long as we desire, but lets cut it short. The reality is that odds favour the fact that this trial is too complex and a lot of foreign elements will not enable it to take place in the transparent way. But the more scary fact is this that the trial can land some very important institute in Pakistan into a conflict with the rest, and the consequences for this can be very fatal for the democracy which is still a bit novice in Pakistan.
A new breath has been filled to those who support his immediate trial after US Envoy Halbrooke gave a clear signal that US considers it an internal matter of Pakistan, but don’t buy American words. Mush’s legacy is closely linked with US aspiration and game plan in this region. His coming into power, his smooth sail initially, happening of 9/11, US intervention into Pakistan and BB murder, they all are tied with the same string. Though Americans are famous for disposing their special friends gracefully as we saw in General Zia’s case, this time around it seems that they have a different frame of mind. The government presently is supporting this stance and Raza Rabbani recently recorded a very harsh statement against Musharaff, its difficult to understand how they can proceed with this initiative, where it is clear that they were also largely facilitated by his blessings.
To sum up, if this trial happens, it will be the trial of the century along with some very intresting or rather horrific surprises attached with it. From one trouble to another, it seems that too many cooks are preparing food in the executive kitchen. They have yet to sort Swat and Wana, 17th Amendment and other crisis. A new frontier at this stage, seems intresting.
Swat issue
Nation united on Swat issue
RAWALPINDI, May 19 (APP): State Minister for Interior Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi has said that unity and unanimity was found in the All Parties Conference (APC) over the ongoing military operation in Swat, just for the cause of national integrity, stability and defense of the country. He was talking to journalists after the closing ceremony of photo exhibition at the Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) here Tuesday late evening.
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He said the APC supported the ongoing military operation in Swat to crush and eliminate the extremist militants, posing threat to the stability and integrity of country.
He said it has been decided that some 100,000 personnel will be recruited in the Anti Terrorist Force (ATF) saying and each province will have to recruit some 20,000 personnel in the said force to help eliminate the terrorists.
Responding to a query, the State Minister for Interior told that some 20,000 affected persons have gone back to their places in Bunir, saying the military operation was going on successfully and it would take one month for completion of operation and in crushing the terrorists.
All the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) will return to their native places very soon, he added.
Tasneem Qureshi said that there were some 4000 militants fighting Pakistan Army and of them some 800 have been killed by the Pak Army adding the operation will be completed in one month time and the IDPs will return to their places safely and calmly, he added.
The Minister, about the US Drone attacks in the tribal areas said these are being carried out by the US. As soon as the militants are eliminated these attacks will come to an end, he added.
The Interior Minister said that Sofi Mohammad, Maulana Fazal Ullah and Bait Ullah Mahsood were our targets.
He said the nation will also be informed about the foreign hand involved in creating havoc and turmoil in the tribal areas of our country, saying no one would be spared who is involved in this heinous crime against humanity at any cost, he maintained.
RAWALPINDI, May 19 (APP): State Minister for Interior Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi has said that unity and unanimity was found in the All Parties Conference (APC) over the ongoing military operation in Swat, just for the cause of national integrity, stability and defense of the country. He was talking to journalists after the closing ceremony of photo exhibition at the Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) here Tuesday late evening.
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
He said the APC supported the ongoing military operation in Swat to crush and eliminate the extremist militants, posing threat to the stability and integrity of country.
He said it has been decided that some 100,000 personnel will be recruited in the Anti Terrorist Force (ATF) saying and each province will have to recruit some 20,000 personnel in the said force to help eliminate the terrorists.
Responding to a query, the State Minister for Interior told that some 20,000 affected persons have gone back to their places in Bunir, saying the military operation was going on successfully and it would take one month for completion of operation and in crushing the terrorists.
All the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) will return to their native places very soon, he added.
Tasneem Qureshi said that there were some 4000 militants fighting Pakistan Army and of them some 800 have been killed by the Pak Army adding the operation will be completed in one month time and the IDPs will return to their places safely and calmly, he added.
The Minister, about the US Drone attacks in the tribal areas said these are being carried out by the US. As soon as the militants are eliminated these attacks will come to an end, he added.
The Interior Minister said that Sofi Mohammad, Maulana Fazal Ullah and Bait Ullah Mahsood were our targets.
He said the nation will also be informed about the foreign hand involved in creating havoc and turmoil in the tribal areas of our country, saying no one would be spared who is involved in this heinous crime against humanity at any cost, he maintained.
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