Saif-ur-Rehman (prisoner)

Last updated

Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan is a Pakistani citizen who was wrongly detained in Chile on charges of terrorism, and later acquitted.

Contents

Background

Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan was born in 1982, in Islamabad, Pakistan, where he spent most of his early life. After completing his A-levels from the University College of Islamabad (UCI), he went on to complete a bachelor's degree from the University of Punjab in Lahore. [1] He is said to have frequently toured the United Kingdom (where he took part in amateur fashion modelling) and the United States. Saif's college principal at UCI, Catalina Alliende, a Chilean national who also happened to be the honorary consul of Chile in Islamabad, encouraged him to travel to Chile to learn the Spanish language at the eFronteras institute in Santiago and also to study tourism and hospitality. Upon his arrival, he enrolled in language courses and rented a room in a boarding house. [1] [2]

On May 11, 2010, a U.S. official confirmed that Saif's name was on a terror watch list. [1] However, there were no allegations leveled against him. Saif-ur-Rehman Khan was also not found to have any links with any illicit group. In May 2010, in an interview to media the Pakistani ambassador in Santiago, Chile stated that "Saif ur Rehman may have been framed". [3]

All suspicions were put to rest by the court in Santiago Chile that acquitted him and prosecutors dropped all charges against him. All along, Saif ur Rehman and his family claimed that the entire fiasco may have been a result of a "misunderstanding" stemming from mistaken identity. [4]

Biography

On May 7, 2010, Saif was approached by three Americans while attending services at a mosque. Earlier that day, he had received a call from the U.S. Embassy in Santiago requesting that he come to the embassy for an identity check [1] (it was later learnt that the purpose of the call-up was for letting him know his U.S. visa had been revoked).

After informing the local Pakistani embassy, Saif proceeded towards the American embassy on May 10. When he was scanned while entering, traces of TNT and tetryl were found in the documents and cell phone which he submitted at the reception. Some reports said residue was found on his body, but it was later determined that nothing had been found on his body, clothes and hands. While he was locked in the embassy building, hours before his official detention, Chilean police searched his apartment, finding no sign of any explosive residues. However, a second search later on the same day uncovered traces of tetryl on several items of clothing, a small suitcase and a laptop. [1]

The Chilean interior minister, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, declared the Pakistani student a "terrorist" before the investigations concluded. The controversial Chilean anti-terrorism law, which allows some bypass of due process, was invoked. The courts overturned this application of the law, thus releasing Khan after five days of detention. [5]

Release

Upon his release, [6] [7] Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan gave a press conference where he pleaded his innocence. [8] [9] The investigations continued and prosecutors repeatedly requested more time from the courts. Meanwhile, the parents of the Pakistani student traveled to Santiago to accompany their son and aid in his legal defense. [10]

Outcome

The investigation continued for more than 7 months. The U.S. Embassy in Santiago invoked diplomatic immunity and refused to allow the embassy staff who handled his belongings to be questioned by the Chilean courts. [11] [12] The Pakistani student appeared in various television [13] and news programs and affirmed his trust in the Chilean judiciary. [14] Proceedings in late 2010 found that Khan was not guilty. Subsequently, the prosecutors dropped the charges against him amidst much media coverage. A coalition of friends and family of Saif ur Rehman launched an effective media campaign to dispel the misinformation that appeared in media especially in May 2010. [15] His trial substantially brought Chile–Pakistan relations to the limelight. In his last TV interviews, he asked the government and the people behind this ordeal for an apology and got immense support from the human rights commission in the congress of Chile.

Related Research Articles

Diplomatic immunity Form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments

Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity that ensures diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws, although they may still be expelled. Modern diplomatic immunity was codified as international law in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) which has been ratified by all but a handful of nations. The concept and custom of diplomatic immunity dates back thousands of years. Many principles of diplomatic immunity are now considered to be customary law. Diplomatic immunity was developed to allow for the maintenance of government relations, including during periods of difficulties and armed conflict. When receiving diplomats, who formally represent the sovereign, the receiving head of state grants certain privileges and immunities to ensure they may effectively carry out their duties, on the understanding that these are provided on a reciprocal basis.

Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood is a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scholar of Islamic studies. He was the subject of a criminal investigation launched by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over unauthorized travel in Afghanistan prior to the September 11 attacks in 2001.

The News International, published in broadsheet size, is the largest English language newspaper in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that caters to the Pakistani community in the United Kingdom.

Hamoodur Rahman

Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, NI. HI, was a Pakistani Bengali jurist and an academic who served as the Chief Justice of Pakistan from 18 November 1968 till 31 October 1975.

Ahmadpur East Tehsil Tehsil in Punjab, Pakistan

Ahmadpur East or Ahmadpur Sharqia is one of the five tehsils, or administrative subdivisions, of Bahawalpur District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is Ahmadpur East. With approximately 1 million inhabitants, it is the largest tehsil in terms of population in Pakistan. The main language spoken in the region is Saraiki. Urdu And Punjabi are also spoken. Urdu and English are the official languages used in various educational and government institutions.

Fazal-ur-Rehman (politician) Pakistani politician

Maulana Fazlur Rehman is a centre right-wing Pakistani Deobandi politician and current president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). He is the acting president of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of establishment political parties formed to resist the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf administration of Imran Khan. Rehman was a member of the National Assembly between 1988 and May 2018 and during that time served as Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2007. Rehman was part of MRD which was formed against Zia-ul-Haq's dictatorship.

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, renamed to Millat-e-Islamia, is a Muslim organisation in Pakistan, which also functioned as a political party. It broke away from the main Deobandi Sunni organisation Jamiatul Ulema-e-Islam in 1985. Established in Jhang by Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, it was banned by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002 as a terrorist organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. The fact based account is presented in the book In the Line of Fire: A Memoir by Pervez Musharraf. In March 2012, the government of Pakistan banned Sipah-e-Sahaba again. The government of the United Kingdom banned the group earlier in 2001.

Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday

Honourable Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday is a Pakistani jurist who served as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He remained permanent judge of Supreme Court from 2002 to 2010. He was born in Lahore on 13 January 1945. His late brother Chaudhary Muhammad Farooq had served as the Attorney General of Pakistan. His younger brother Chaudhary Asad-ur-Rehman, a politician, was elected as a Member of the National Assembly three times on a Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) ticket and served as a Federal minister as well.

Shafi ur Rahman

Justice Shafi ur Rahman was one of the longest serving judges of Supreme Court of Pakistan. He was conferred the Nishan-i-Imtiaz for his meritorious services in the field of Human Rights. He is known for writing the Shafi–ur–Rehman Commission Report which is a highly classified document that is still kept hidden from the public eye. It detailed the events leading to the rise to power and death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the 6th President of Pakistan.

Project Thread was a Canadian police operation that resulted in the arrest of 24 immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area in 2003 amidst incorrect allegations they formed a threat to national security, and maintained "suspected ties to al-Qaeda". It was later determined that police had based their operation on "flimsy evidence and stereotypes".

Munir Ahmad Khan

Munir Ahmad Khan, NI, HI, FPAS, was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nation's nuclear weapons during the successive years after the war with India in 1971.

The Abdus Salam Award, is a most prestigious award that is awarded annually to Pakistani nationals to the field of chemistry, mathematics, physics, biology. The award is awarded to the scientists who are resident in Pakistan, below 35 years of age on 31 December of the year for which the Prize was to be awarded. It is to consist of a certificate giving a citation and a cash award of US$1,000. It is to be awarded on the basis of the collected research and/or a technical essay written specially for the Prize

Content from the United States diplomatic cables leak has depicted Pakistan and related subjects extensively. The leak, which began on 28 November 2010, occurred when the website of WikiLeaks – an international new media non-profit organisation that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources and news leaks – started to publish classified documents of detailed correspondence – diplomatic cables – between the United States Department of State and its diplomatic missions around the world. Since the initial release date, WikiLeaks is releasing further documents every day.

Chile–Pakistan relations Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Chile and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Chile–Pakistan relations refers to the bilateral, diplomatic, commercial, economic and people-to-people linkages between Pakistan and Chile. The Embassy of Pakistan in Argentina is concurrent to Chile, likewise, the Embassy of Chile in the United Arab Emirates deals with matters pertaining to Pakistan.

Raymond Allen Davis is a former United States Army soldier, private security firm employee, and contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). On January 27, 2011, Davis killed two reportedly armed men in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Although the U.S. government contended that he was protected by diplomatic immunity because of his employment with the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Davis was jailed and criminally charged by Pakistani authorities with double murder and the illegal possession of a firearm. A car coming to aid Davis killed a third Pakistani man, Ibadur Rahman, in a "hit and run" while speeding on the wrong side of the road. On March 16, 2011, Davis was released after the families of the two killed men were paid $2.4 million in diyya. Judges then acquitted him on all charges and Davis immediately departed Pakistan.

Saifur Rehman is a male Muslim given name, meaning sword of the Most Gracious.

<i>Sang-e-Mar Mar</i> 2016 Pakistani television series

Sang-e-Mar Mar, previously titled Daasi, is a Pakistani drama serial that aired on Hum TV from 1 September 2016 to 9 March 2017. It stars Mikaal Zulfiqar, Kubra Khan, Sania Saeed and Noman Ijaz. Directed by Saife Hassan, the show deals with the honour culture and states that how love and revenge annihilates relations.

The 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup was the first edition of the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup, a List A cricket tournament that took place in Pakistan from 6 September to 4 November 2018. Each match was played after the conclusion of the corresponding first-class fixture in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

The 2019 Azadi march was a protest march led by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) in Islamabad, Pakistan from 28 October 2019. The march opposed Prime Minister Imran Khan, demanding his resignation, and new elections. No women were part of the protests. The protest involved tens of thousands of protesters.

Events from the year 2021 in Pakistan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan". Cageprisoners . 25 November 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011.
  2. ↑ InnocentSaif
  3. ↑ "Chile US embassy: Saif ur Rehman was framed, says Ambassador". The Nation (Pakistan) . Nawaiwaqt Group. May 13, 2010. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  4. ↑ "Mohammad Saif Ur Rehman Khan, Pakistani Man, Says False Alarm At U.S. Embassy in Chile Led To Detention". WorldPost . Berggruen Institute. May 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  5. ↑ Court rejects the arguments of the Chilean government against Pakistani student
  6. ↑ Chilevision CHV interview
  7. ↑ CNN Chile Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Pakistani man: Chile detention is 'misunderstanding,'
  9. ↑ Paquistaní: “Detención es un gran malentendido”
  10. ↑ Parents arrive in Chile
  11. ↑ US consul Santiago diplomatic immunity
  12. ↑ US embassy invokes diplomatic immunity
  13. ↑ TVN interview
  14. ↑ "I will fight to prove my innocence"
  15. ↑ "Amigos difunden fotos de joven paquistaní". May 14, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.