ÃƑŜĤÃŇ ŤÃŘĮǪ

Day 48. 24 hours ago, my family raised the alarm. My mother, @DrUzma_KhanPK, has a replaced heart valve, her blood pressure is rising in Kot Lakhpat Jail, and she is not receiving treatment. Since then, there has been no word from the jail, no word from the authorities, and no cardiologist. My mother and my aunts, @Aleema_KhanPK and @Noreen_KhanPK, all around 70, have been held for 48 days under a detention law, without charge. Their brother, @ImranKhanPTI, is in solitary confinement with his blood pressure at 192. The state holds them. The state is responsible for their health. Let her see her cardiologist. Charge them or release them. #FreeImranAndFamily

انتہائی تشویشناک اور فوری!! کوٹ لکھپت جیل میں قید میری والدہ @DrUzma_KhanPK کے بارے میں میری خالہ روبینہ خان کا بیان: "مجھے کوٹ لکھپت جیل کے اندر سے غیر رسمی ذرائع سے اطلاع ملی ہے کہ میری بہن عظمیٰ خان کا بلڈ پریشر بھی تیزی سے بڑھ رہا ہے اور انہیں کوئی طبی علاج نہیں دیا جا رہا۔ یہ قدرتی نہیں ہے۔ اپنے باقی بہن بھائیوں کی طرح ان کا بلڈ پریشر بھی ہمیشہ موروثی طور پر کم سے نارمل رہا ہے۔ خاندان کو جیل حکام کی جانب سے کوئی اطلاع نہیں دی گئی۔ ان کے دل کا والو تبدیل ہو چکا ہے اور ان کی صحت پہلے ہی نازک ہے۔ انہیں فوری طور پر کسی ماہرِ امراضِ قلب کو دکھایا جانا چاہیے۔" – روبینہ خان یہ انتہائی سنگین معاملہ ہے۔ میری والدہ کے دل کا والو تبدیل ہو چکا ہے اور ان کا بلڈ پریشر بغیر کسی علاج کے بڑھ رہا ہے۔ حکام انہیں فوری طور پر ان کے اپنے ڈاکٹر سے ملنے دیں۔ @UNHumanRights @UN @amnesty @amnestysasia @hrw @HRCP87

When the courts belong to the regime, every petition is decided before it is heard. ANATOMY OF OPPRESSION | No. 3: Silence the courts The Philippines, September 1972. President Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law, and among the first people arrested is opposition senator Ninoy Aquino, the man widely expected to succeed him. Aquino petitions the Supreme Court for his freedom, but in 1974 the court upholds both martial law and his detention. Three years later, a military commission sentences him to death by firing squad. Why it works: – A court ruling turns an arbitrary detention into something that looks like law – Every rejected petition tells the next detainee that there is no point in trying – The regime no longer has to defend itself, because it can simply say the courts have spoken Why it failed: – Aquino refused to break. He spent seven years and seven months in prison, part of it in solitary confinement, and went on a 40-day hunger strike. After two heart attacks he was allowed to go to the United States for surgery, and three years later, warned that he could be killed, he flew back to Manila anyway. He was shot dead at the airport on 21 August 1983. – His widow, Cory, who had never held public office, stood against Marcos in the 1986 election. – Marcos declared himself the winner and refused to accept the result. The election's own computer technicians walked out rather than help rig the count, and hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Manila. Four days later, Marcos fled the country, and Cory Aquino became president. No court ever freed Ninoy Aquino. His family and his people did. When the courts go silent, the people have to rise. A dictator is always more afraid of the people than the people are of him. There are 250 million of us. We need to realise the power we have. Where have you seen this playbook? #FreeImranAndFamily