18 January 2004	Sunday	25 Ziqa'ad 1424

PESHAWAR, Jan 17: The Amnesty International has expressed concern over the continuous detention of a journalist, Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, without his production before any court of law.

The Amnesty stated that Mr Mehdi's continued 'disappearance' violated rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan and international human rights standards.

In an urgent action call given to human rights activists across the world, the international human rights watchdog urged them to send appeals to the president of Pakistan and Pakistani missions abroad for expressing concern over the continuous disappearance of Mr Rizvi.

Mr Rizvi was arrested with French journalists Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau whilst acting as their translator.

The Amnesty stated that his family and colleagues had been unable to establish his whereabouts and one of them told the organization, "we strongly fear that he is being made subject to severe torture to get the version which suits the government".