A crowd of approximately 500 New York lawyers and judges from across the city took to the steps of the New York County Courthouse yesterday in a show of solidarity and support for lawyers and judges in Pakistan, many of whom have been jailed or detained since martial law was declared in Pakistan on Nov. 3.
Click play below to watch video of the protest.
"We've all read with horror and astonishment as lawyers and judges were fired, arrested and persecuted for doing what they are supposed to be doing, advocating for an independent judiciary and the rule of law," says Barry Kamins, president of the New York City Bar Association. "It's shocking that so many lawyers and judges in Pakistan have been detained and imprisoned, and we are learning that at least some of these layers are being mistreated, perhaps tortured."
Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, assumed power in 1999 following a coup d'état and has suspended the constitution twice during his regime. When emergency rule was enacted earlier this month, Musharraf jailed the Supreme Court of Pakistan judges and closed all private television channels. Critics charge emergency rule was enacted to delay an ongoing investigation into his reelection bid as the Pakistan court was scheduled to decide whether he was eligible to run. Musharraf had previously indicated it was his intention to remain in office for another five years.
Musharraf is also facing pressure from opposition leader Benazir Bhutto,
who has repeatedly called for his resignation. Bhutto, the former prime
minister of Pakistan, is currently under house arrest in the country. While Musharraf has the tenuous backing of the Bush administration, Washington, D.C., has indicated it wants Musharraf to share power with other moderate forces to deter extremist forces in the area, reports The New York Times. But Musharraf has resisted calls that he resign immediately and has said emergency rule would remain in effect indefinitely as his critics continue to face arrest.
One of those arrested is Aitzaz Ahsan, president of Supreme Court Bar Association in Pakistan whose son Ali is a New York attorney. Ahsan says his father became a target because he was the lawyer for the opposition party contesting the reelection of Musharraf.
"We have received word that my father is unharmed, but that is not the case with thousands of Pakistani lawyers," says Ahsan, whose mother has gone into hiding fearing arrest. "We must put the military regime in Pakistan on notice that lawyers across America know whose side they want to be on. And that's the side of the rule of law and a civic society."
But Ahsan saved his bluntest criticism for the Bush administration, which he condemned for continuing to support Musharraf despite the suspension of the constitution. "It is feared that this is the time that Musharraf's army will use to settle scores. We must speak up for these principles that they are sacrificing for," Ahsan says.
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