January 8, 2021, Peshawar - Journalist and human rights defender Sanna Ejaz was briefly arrested and later released during the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) protest on January 6. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns this vicious attack against Sana by law enforcement officials.  We demand Pakistani authorities end their intimidation of journalists and respect press freedom.

Speaking to CFWIJ, Sanna divulged that more than one hundred PTM supporters marched towards the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, where the demonstration would eventually end. Sanna described the protest, “We were protesting against the arrest of one of our party workers. We made our demands and ended the protest peacefully, half of us had left, and the rest were preparing to leave when the police came and intercepted us.”

The journalist included that when she asked for confirmation about her arrest warrant, the security forces refused to provide it. “The only information given was that, out of the arrested people, only eight names were mentioned in the FIR.”, she said. Sanna was forced to sit with a female constable and was told she would soon be moved to a female prison.

“However, after five hours of waiting, I was told that I would not be arrested. I think Amnesty International drew attention to the police violence we had experienced”, Sanna recounted. Adding, “I did not leave until my friends were also released. 41 PTM activists were released afterwards.” Sanna clarified that the Speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, had called the police as negotiations were underway between the government and PTM. 

According to Sanna, this incident was not her first experience with unruly police. She was detained several times before, though her most recent detention was quite distressing. During Sanna’s previous arrest, her family was misinformed by authorities when trying to reach the journalist. The security forces deliberately hid Sanna’s location from the family, even though the journalist was detained at the police station.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents against journalists in Pakistan with great concern. We consider these interventions as threats to press freedom that must be addressed. We appeal to the Pakistani authorities to respect press freedom and end their discriminatory practices against journalists.