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French journalists on hunger strike
Two French journalists began a hunger strike in jail on Monday to protest their arrest in Pakistan for allegedly travelling to an area near the Afghan border without official permission, their lawyer said Monday. Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, a reporter and photographer working for the French LâExpress magazine who last week were denied bail, face years in prison if convicted for the visa violation under Pakistanâs Foreignersâ Act. Theyâre: #1 French, #2 Journalists, #3 in a Pak jail. Weâve hit the Trifecta! On Monday, their lawyer Nafees Siddiqi said he filed a fresh bail application with the High Court in the southern city of Karachi where they are held, and the court will hear the petition on Tuesday. In a letter signed by the two journalists and faxed by Siddiqi to The Associated Press, they said they have been arrested for just doing their job. "We feel we are journalists who have only done their jobs as journalists and we do not understand whey we are treated as criminals, retained against our will in the court," the letter said. "Therefore, we hereby refuse to ingest food and will only drink water." Guys, that only works if the police care if you starve to death. State media in Pakistan has reported that the journalists were planning a report on how Taleban rebels had set up training camps inside Pakistan - a touchy issue here. State PTV network has broadcast video apparently confiscated from the Frenchmen that shows one of them photographing armed men. The report claimed the armed men were not Taleban and were just posing to earn some money. So they were faking their photos? Sure they donât work for the New York Times?
If they are convicted, most likely theyâll get expelled to France after a short time.
Posted by: Steve 2003-12-22 |
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