IHC CJ to visit Adiala Jail in alleged prisoner torture case

Justice Minallah orders human rights secy to accompany him on visit, says ministry has 'extraordinary powers'

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah will be visiting Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail tomorrow, in connection with a petition filed against the torture of a prisoner, it was reported on Friday.

The IHC CJ also directed the secretary human rights to accompany him on the visit, stating that the ministry of human rights had extraordinary powers.

During the hearing of the petition today, Justice Minallah also remarked that the ministry had the authority to ask for a report regarding the matter from not only Islamabad but also other provinces.

A day earlier, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) had submitted a report to the IHC disclosing alleged corrupt practices and torture of prisoners held at the Adiala Jail.

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The court said that a doctor at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) had examined the prisoner and the medical report supported allegations of torture in the complaint made by the prisoner's parents. The doctor stated that the marks on the body of the prisoner were likely caused by torture.

Imtiaz Bibi, mother of 21-year-old prisoner Shahab Hussain has filed a petition in the IHC stating that the jail superintendent and other staff members tortured her son and broke his finger.

Hussain was arrested in an anti-terrorism case and was allegedly stripped and subjected to torture by jail officials who had demanded a bribe from him.