Behind the release of Hamid Ansari
In November, a delegation of Indian journalists invited by the government of Pakistan to cover the Kartarpur Corridor groundbreaking ceremony met Prime Minister Imran Khan. Rajdeep Sardesai brought up the issue of Hamid Ansari, a young Indian who was jailed in Pakistan for illegally entering the country six years ago to meet a girl he befriended online. Mr. Khan responded that this was the first time he was hearing about this case. “Insha’Allah, we will do our best” was Prime Minister’s response.
Mr. Ansari was released on December 17. In December 2015, was been sentenced to three years in prison. After he completed his term, the Peshawar High Court gave the government one month to finish the formalities. The government acted quickly.
While Mr. Ansari was in Pakistani prisons, there were several people who helped him and fought for his release. Rukhshanda Naz, a lawyer and rights activist, was one of them.
In 2014, Ms. Naz went to Nepal for a conference where author Rita Manchanda told her about Mr. Ansari’s case. He had gone “missing” after entering Pakistan through the Afghan border. Ms. Naz asked Ms. Manchanda to give Mr. Ansari’s mother her number and email. “I started talking to Fauzia (Mr. Ansari’s mother). I told her that I need each and every communication between Hamid and everyone else,” said Ms. Naz.
She then made a file of Mr. Ansari’s Facebook communications and sent them to different quarters. “Qazi Anwar [lawyer] took the case and had he not, this wouldn’t have resulted in a positive outcome.”
“People told me I shouldn’t take this case and it’s tantamount to supporting a spy, but we stood steadfast. We found out Hamid was in custody and still alive. I told his mother that your son is alive. Now we will fight a battle to get his trial started. We kept filing petitions. I told Fauzia to keep writing letters, we tweeted to the then Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi. One day, we got the news that Hamid had been shifted to Peshawar jail.”
When Ms. Naz went to the prison to get access to Mr. Ansari, the jail authorities initially did not let her meet him. She sat there for a few hours. She was interrogated by some officials. They asked her about Mr. Ansari’s file (his Facebook communications). After submitting the file, she had to wait a few days before she was allowed to see him.
First meeting
“The first time I met Hamid, he couldn’t believe that someone could even come and see him. I told him that your mother has sent me. He started crying. Consular access was denied but I told him not to worry and that he should consider me as his family. I got clothes and other basic things for him,” she said.
A few days later, a constable told Ms. Naz that Mr. Ansari was on a hunger strike. She went to see him again. “I told him, ‘your mother cries for hours for you. What if something happens to you?’ He ended his hunger strike. I also saw that one of his hands was injured. Upon inquiring, I found out that he had had a fight with a fellow inmate in the barracks. We then asked the authorities to transfer him to a death cell for his own safety... Hamid was given extra security.”
Ms. Naz was confident that Mr. Ansari would be released in 2018 after his jail term. She said the Peshawar High Court’s role must be commended in this case. Ms. Naz also clarified that Mr. Ansari’s online love interest did not testify in court as she is already married.
Ms. Naz said Mr. Ansari called her from India after his release. “I found a difference in his voice when he called me from India. It was more relaxed and happy.”
(Originally published in The Hindu)
Mr. Ansari was released on December 17. In December 2015, was been sentenced to three years in prison. After he completed his term, the Peshawar High Court gave the government one month to finish the formalities. The government acted quickly.
While Mr. Ansari was in Pakistani prisons, there were several people who helped him and fought for his release. Rukhshanda Naz, a lawyer and rights activist, was one of them.
In 2014, Ms. Naz went to Nepal for a conference where author Rita Manchanda told her about Mr. Ansari’s case. He had gone “missing” after entering Pakistan through the Afghan border. Ms. Naz asked Ms. Manchanda to give Mr. Ansari’s mother her number and email. “I started talking to Fauzia (Mr. Ansari’s mother). I told her that I need each and every communication between Hamid and everyone else,” said Ms. Naz.
She then made a file of Mr. Ansari’s Facebook communications and sent them to different quarters. “Qazi Anwar [lawyer] took the case and had he not, this wouldn’t have resulted in a positive outcome.”
“People told me I shouldn’t take this case and it’s tantamount to supporting a spy, but we stood steadfast. We found out Hamid was in custody and still alive. I told his mother that your son is alive. Now we will fight a battle to get his trial started. We kept filing petitions. I told Fauzia to keep writing letters, we tweeted to the then Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi. One day, we got the news that Hamid had been shifted to Peshawar jail.”
When Ms. Naz went to the prison to get access to Mr. Ansari, the jail authorities initially did not let her meet him. She sat there for a few hours. She was interrogated by some officials. They asked her about Mr. Ansari’s file (his Facebook communications). After submitting the file, she had to wait a few days before she was allowed to see him.
First meeting
“The first time I met Hamid, he couldn’t believe that someone could even come and see him. I told him that your mother has sent me. He started crying. Consular access was denied but I told him not to worry and that he should consider me as his family. I got clothes and other basic things for him,” she said.
A few days later, a constable told Ms. Naz that Mr. Ansari was on a hunger strike. She went to see him again. “I told him, ‘your mother cries for hours for you. What if something happens to you?’ He ended his hunger strike. I also saw that one of his hands was injured. Upon inquiring, I found out that he had had a fight with a fellow inmate in the barracks. We then asked the authorities to transfer him to a death cell for his own safety... Hamid was given extra security.”
Ms. Naz was confident that Mr. Ansari would be released in 2018 after his jail term. She said the Peshawar High Court’s role must be commended in this case. Ms. Naz also clarified that Mr. Ansari’s online love interest did not testify in court as she is already married.
Ms. Naz said Mr. Ansari called her from India after his release. “I found a difference in his voice when he called me from India. It was more relaxed and happy.”
(Originally published in The Hindu)
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