WASHINGTON: Amnesty International has urged Pakistani authorities to immediately release all those people who were arrested recently for criticising the state on social media.
In a statement shared by Amnesty International, USA, the rights advocacy group’s South Asia Research Director Dinushika Dissanayake pointed out that Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) recently arrested eight people after they published criticism of the state on Twitter.
“The Pakistani authorities must stop using the draconian Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act to punish people who are simply exercising their right to freedom of expression online,” she said.
“For far too long, successive governments have used this law as a tool to crush peaceful dissent and intimidate supporters of political opposition.”
Ms Dissanayake demanded that the eight people arrested across Punjab earlier this week, “must be immediately and unconditionally released”.
Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2022
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