Idris Khattak

Idris Khattak
Born (1963-11-19) November 19, 1963
Pakistan
Disappeared13 November 2019
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
StatusImprisoned after a conviction by military court
Known forHuman rights work
Children2

Idris Khattak is a Pakistani human rights activist.[1][2][3][4] In early December 2021 a military court sentenced Khattak to 14 years in prison for espionage.[5][6]

Life

Idris Khattak was born in December 1963.[7] He had previously worked for Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch[8] on a wide range of topics including people illegally disappeared by the military. He holds a PhD in anthropology from Saint Petersburg.[9][10]

Khattak has two daughters, Shumaisa and Talia.[11][12]

Abduction

Khattak was abducted by four individuals on the Swabi motorway interchange in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 13 November 2019.[13]

An unnamed source testified to the UN OHCHR that he was kept in solitary confinement from November 2019 until his transfer to a district jail in November 2021.[14] Khattak is also alleged to have been subjected to psychological and physical torture including being coerced into signing a false confession.[14] The government of Pakistan has refused to respond to these allegations beyond the acknowledgement that Khattak is in their custody.[14] In February 2021 Amnesty International reported the Peshawar High Court had denied Khattak's appeal to be tried in a civilian court and that his trial would instead take place in a military court.[15][16] In 2026 a group of UN human rights experts testified that Khattak's health is deteriorating due to the conditions of his detention.[17]

Conviction

He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in a secret military court trial in late-2021, not being allowed to defend his case.[18] Human Rights Watch condemned the sentencing, saying that "Pakistan's security forces have with impunity long carried out enforced disappearances" and calling for him to tried publicly in a civilian court.[19] Amnesty International called the sentencing "the culmination of a shameful two-year process that has been unjust from start to finish" and saying that "enforced disappearances must, once and for all, be put to an end."[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Falah Gulzar (30 April 2020). "Pakistan: Human rights activist Idris Khattak missing since last year, Pakistanis demand action from government". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Human-rights activist Idris Khattak goes 'missing' in Swabi". nation.com.pk. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Huma Yusuf (4 May 2020). "Missing rights". dawn.com. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Sirajuddin (18 November 2019). "Rights activist Idris Khattak abducted by unidentified men at karak Interchange, says driver". dawn.com. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Military court convicts rights activist of espionage". 5 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Pakistan Sentences Rights Defender to 14 Years in Prison | Human Rights Watch". 6 December 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Mustikhan, Ahmar (3 December 2019). "Strange case of Idris Khattak in 'Gaibistan' or the Land of the Disappeared". The Times of India.
  8. ↑ Zia, Farah (19 December 2021). "The curious case of Idris Khattak". The News on Sunday.
  9. ↑ Muhammad Idris khatak. "Biography of Idris khatak" (PDF).
  10. ↑ International Business Times, Who Is Idris Khattak? The Human Rights Activist Went Against Pakistan Over 'Forced Disappearances' , article by Gaurav Mishra dated 2 July 2020
  11. ↑ "Where is Idris Khattak?". amnesty.org. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "Idris Khattak: 'My father was taken and I don't know why'". BBC. 24 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Human Rights Commission of Pakistan". hrcp-web.org. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its 104th session, 10–14 November 2025 (Report). Human Rights Council: Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 12 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "Pakistan: Further Information: Human Rights Defender Denied Civilian Court Trial: Idris Khattak". amnesty.org. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "PHC allows trial of rights activist by military court". The Express Tribune. 1 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Pakistan: End the unjust detention and immediately release human rights defender Idris Khattak, facing life-threatening health risk - Experts". OHCHR. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Military court convicts rights activist of espionage". Dawn. 5 December 2021.
  19. ↑ Gossman, Patricia (6 December 2021). "Pakistan Sentences Rights Defender to 14 Years in Prison". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Pakistan: Family of enforced disappearance victim Idris Khattak must be given clarity". Amnesty International. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.

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