• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: MAN AT RISK OF PROTEST-RELATED EXECUTION (Pakistan: UA 63.23)

July 19, 2023

On May 11th, 2023, Imran Riaz Khan, a Pakistani YouTuber and TV anchor, was detained and arrested by the Sialkot police, at the Sialkot International Airport. It was only after his detention that a detention order was issued alleging Imran incited violence. Authorities allege he was released on May 12th, however he has not been seen or heard from since the day he was arrested. Authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the fate and whereabouts of Imran Riaz Khan, and if he is in state custody, he must be immediately released or, if there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, promptly charged with an internationally recognizable crime and brought before a civilian court.

TAKE ACTION:

  1. Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on August 30, 2023.
  2. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  3. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 63.23. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Honourable Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad
Minister of Interior
Room 409, 4th floor, R Block
Pak Secretariat, Constitution Avenue
Red Zone, Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92-51-9206380
Email: [email protected]
Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan
Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
3517 International Ct NW, Washington DC 20008
Phone: 202 243 6500 I Fax: 202 686 1534
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PakinUSA ; @asadmk17
Facebook: @PakistaninUS
Contact Form: http://embassyofpakistanusa.org/contact-us/
Salutation: Dear Ambassador

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Honorable Rana Sanaullah Khan,

I write to you out of extreme concern about the fate and whereabouts of Imran Riaz Khan, a Pakistani YouTuber and TV anchor who has been forcibly disappeared. Imran was arrested and detained in Sialkot on May 11th, 2023. Imran was detained at the Sialkot International Airport by the Sialkot police and taken to the Sialkot Cantt police station at around midnight on May 11th, 2023. Only subsequently was a detention order issued claiming that Imran was inciting violence in the village of Dhana Wali, a claim his lawyer vehemently denies.

Authorities claim that Imran was released on May 12th, at 11.20pm however his family say they have not seen or heard from Imran since his arrest. Imran has been missing for over one month now in a suspected case of enforced disappearance by state authorities and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown. The police claim that Imran is no longer in their custody and it is distressing that the police have not been able to locate Imran despite court orders requiring the authorities to work together to ascertain his whereabouts.

In keeping with government’s international human rights obligations, I urge you to:

  • Ensure a prompt, and impartial, investigation into the fate and whereabouts of Imran Riaz Khan;
  • Should Imran Riaz Khan be in state custody, immediately release him, or if there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, promptly charge him with an internationally recognizable crime and produce him before a civilian court;
  • End the practice of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, immediately and unconditionally disclose the fate and/or whereabouts of forcibly disappeared people to their families and immediately release forcibly disappeared people or promptly bring them before a judge in a civilian court of law to rule on the lawfulness of their arrest or detention and whether they should be released.

 

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES