Ayub Qureshi, Ghulum Farid Awan, Hasil Bizenjo, Yusuf Mastikhan and Liaquat Ali Sahi have been arrested on charges of sedition and rioting, after making speeches against the imposition of emergency rule by General Musharraf. The group have been remanded in police custody in Karachi until 19 November 2007, and are at risk of torture or ill treatment. In the context of the state of emergency, the charges against the men appear to be politically motivated in an effort to suppress their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
