New York, Jan 24: A US-based international human rights group today demanded the immediate release of a Pakistani journalist arrested last month while working with two French journalists.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement issued here urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to order the release of Khawar Mehdi Rizvi.
Rizvi and two French journalists, Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, were arrested on December 16 after they returned from the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.
The Frenchmen were freed and flew home on January 13 after paying a fine. But Rizvi has not been heard from since state-run television showed him in custody soon after the trio's arrest, with Pakistani authorities denying any knowledge of his whereabouts.
"This illegal detention without any charge marks a new low in the growing assault on press freedoms in Pakistan," said Sam Zia-Zarifi, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, in a statement.
"Since General Musharraf assumed power in a bloodless coup in 1999, the Pakistani government has systematically sought to silence the press through threats, harassment and arbitrary arrests," the statement said.
"If there are charges to be brought against Rizvi, he should have his day in court. Otherwise, he should be released immediately."
Bureau Report
