Fazal ur Rehman Afridi
Cases- Case status
- Unknown
- Location of case in SG report
- 2021-083-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2021
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 30.375321
Longitude: 69.3451159999999
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Pakistan
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Dates of prior UN action
- 21 December 2020
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
president of the Institut de recherche et d’études stratégiques de Khyber (IRESK) and member of the Pashtun Protection Movement, who has been in exile since 2009 (PAK 12/2020). Mr. Afridi has raised alleged patterns of enforced disappearances related to military activities by the Pakistani Government in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including of members of the Pashtun and other minorities.
- Type of rights defended
- Caste/Ethnic minorities' rights/Racism
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
He made statements at the Human Rights Council in 2019 and 2020 and submitted information to special procedures, including to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Special Procedures: thematic
- UN Human Rights Council: UN Human Rights Council - General
- Dates of engagement
- 2019, 2020
- Type of attempted engagement
- Participation in meeting on UN premises
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 3 September 2020, September 2020
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Pakistan
- Reprisal information
It is reported that threats, harassment and intimidation against Mr. Afridi intensified as a result of his reporting of cases of missing and forcibly disappeared persons to the UN, and that Mr. Afridi’s relatives and associates have been targeted for his international advocacy, including at the UN (PAK 12/2020). 84. According to information received, on 3 September 2020, the Pakistani intelligence services subpoenaed an individual associated with Mr. Afridi to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) office in District Kohat and pressured the individual, under threats of torture, abduction and death, to provide a statement in a local court confirming that he would cut off all contact with Mr. Afridi. In September 2020, ISI agents reportedly ordered a person associated with Mr. Afridi and his brothers to organize a press conference at the local press club in Kohat, Pakistan, and coerced them to read a previously prepared written statement stating that Mr. Afridi actively participates in protests and political activities to harm Pakistan and that he had been in direct contact with foreign intelligence services. The statement noted that his relatives would agree to the harshest punishment against Mr. Afridi if he did not stop his “anti-Pakistan activities” (PAK 12/2020). These actions are reportedly part of a social media campaign against Mr. Afridi for his human rights advocacy.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Defamation / Defamation campaign
- Family/friends/acquaintances targeted
- Online harassment
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
- No
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2023
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- The case of Mr. Fazal ur Rehman Afridi was included in the 2021 report141 of the Secretary-General on allegations of intimidation, threats of reprisal and harassment as well as threats against his relatives, following his cooperation with the United Nations on human rights issues, including enforced disappearances (PAK 12/2020). Mr. Afridi is a human rights defender, president of the Institut de recherche et d’études stratégiques de Khyber (IRESK), and member of the Pashtun Protection Movement, and has been in exile since 2009.
- On 27 December 2022, special procedures mandate holders addressed calls by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights of investigations into the alleged existence of a “kill list” naming several individuals, including Mr. Afridi. On 12 August 2022, the Standing Committee had reportedly expressed concern about an alleged “kill list” that was published in a Facebook post by the Spokesperson of the Pakistani Taliban. The “kill list” reportedly contained the name of Mr. Afridi, among others. Some of these individuals were allegedly placed on this list due to their work defending human rights of the Pashtun minority and reporting on gross human rights violations, including on enforced disappearances (PAK 8/2022).
- Followup Trends 0
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Date of follow up 0
- 27 December 2022
- Did the government respond? 0
- No
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Special Procedures: UN Special Procedures - General