Afghan refugee dies after alleged police beating

Over 200 Afghans gathered outside a hospital in the capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday, demanding justice and greater protection following the death of 40-year-old Afghan refugee Salahoddin Samadi, allegedly at the hands of police. “Where is the justice in this country?” the deceased man’s 18 year-old son Mas’ud asked IRIN. “None of us are safe.” Standing outside a city medical centre in the sweltering midday sun, he and a crowd of some 200 Afghans, many who did not even know the father of six, waited all day for hospital officials to release the dead man’s body. “All I want is to bury my father,” Mas’ud lamented. But circumstances surrounding the death of the former civil servant from the Afghan capital, Kabul, remained suspicious, and authorities were not taking any chances. Given the heavy police presence at the hospital, it was clear they did not want events to get out of hand. Afghan refugees in Pakistan have long complained of open harassment by corrupt police officials. According to Salahoddin’s brother, Abdol Karim, he and Salahoddin, together with two female family members, were stopped by police on 15 June after arriving in Islamabad by bus from the western city of Peshawar, where they lived. Asked for his passport, Salahoddin, who had lived in the country since 1996, showed a “shinakhte card”, a refugee card issued by Pakistani authorities giving the holder the legal right to stay in the country. But the two officers were not satisfied with the document, and said they would be taken to the local Margala police station for questioning. On their way in two taxis - one for the men and the other for the women - police allegedly demanded US $150 from the brothers in return for their release. When the men failed to produce the money, they were severely beaten. Salahoddin was hit over the head with a bottle and thrown from the car. The officers later released the group after allegedly extorting US $8 from the women in the other taxi. By this time, however, it was too late. Severely injured, Salahoddin Samadi was admitted to hospital, where he remained in a coma until Tuesday night, when he died, his brother told IRIN. Later, when he lodged a complaint against the police, Abdul Karim claimed the police offered him US $240 to withdraw it. After refusing it, he now says his life, as well as those of his family, is in danger. “Sure I feel threatened, but I want justice,” he said. Commenting on the death, a senior superintendent of the Islamabad police, Nasir Khan Durrani, told IRIN that one of constables in question had been dismissed and a criminal case against him already registered. He added that they had given the family complete assurance that a full investigation would be launched into the incident. Asked to comment on charges of police harassment of Afghan refugees living in the country, Durrani said: “We intend to check all illegal immigrants in this country, but we will not tolerate harassment of Afghan refugees by anyone.” He added: “Any complaint against one of our police officers will be fully investigated.” In an earlier interview with IRIN in May, Aziz Khan, foreign ministry head of Afghanistan affairs, rejected claims made by Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Motawakkil on 26 April, complaining of police harassing Afghan nationals in the country and of police extorting bribes. “Those allegations are completely untrue,” Aziz Khan said. “There is no harassment of Afghans who have proper travel documents or have been properly registered,” he said. Most Afghans remained unconvinced. Twenty year-old Shabir Shah told IRIN: “Every day police stop Afghans and demand money.” He said harassment of Afghans is a common occurrence, and the government of Pakistan has taken no action to stop it. “If you don’t pay up they beat you,” he said. “What kind of future do we Afghans have in this country?” he asked. Spokesman for the Taliban Embassy in Islamabad Mohammad Suhail Shaheen was also blunt. “This is a serious problem and we want it to end,” he said. While unable to say how widespread the problem is, he maintained: “ This event is proof of the open harassment many Afghans are enduring by some police officials who are trying to warm their palms.” Meanwhile, following the long-awaited postmortem, in the mortuary behind the hospital where police stood guard, relatives of the victim began final preparations for the body’s burial. Asked to comment on the cause of death as he was leaving the facility, Dr Mohammad Naseer, who performed the official postmortem, told IRIN: “The cause of death was severe brain injury as a result of blunt trauma to the head.”