The incident triggered public calls for harsh punishments for perpetrators, including chemical castration and public hangings. Civil society groups responded with pushbacks and the media underscored the inefficacy of such steps to curb violence against women and girls. The passage of the Zainab Alert Bill was a rare success. The law aimed at expediting procedures and allowing for better coordination between various government institutions to recover missing and abducted children. Hundreds of cases of violence against women and girls were reported throughout the year. Few, if any, perpetrators were held to account.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF In July, authorities in Islamabad bowed to pressure from a discriminatory campaign mounted by politicians, media outlets and clerics to halt the construction of the first Hindu temple and community centre in the capital. The boundary wall of the construction site was torn down by a mob. While vague and broad blasphemy laws had been used in previous years to target the most marginalized people in society, in 2020 their application widened to include artists, human rights defenders and journalists. In July, Tahir Ahmed, a 54-year-old man with mental disabilities, was fatally shot in court by a young man who had come to observe his hearing on blasphemy charges. In August, police filed a case against female actor Saba Qamar and male singer Bilal Saeed for recording a music video in a mosque. The clip was released online and led to large protests in the city of Lahore during which the leaders of religious party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan threatened “vengeance” against the artists. In August police filed a case against journalist and human rights defender Marvi Sirmed under the blasphemy laws for a tweet she posted.
282
PALESTINE (STATE OF) State of Palestine Head of state: Mahmoud Abbas Head of government: Mohammed Shtayyeh The Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Hamas de facto administration in the Gaza Strip continued to crack down on dissent, including by stifling freedoms of expression and assembly, attacking journalists and detaining opponents. Security forces in both areas used unnecessary and/or excessive force during law enforcement activities, including when imposing lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Torture and other illtreatment of detainees were committed with impunity. Women faced discrimination and violence, including killings as a result of gender-based violence. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people continued to face discrimination and lacked protection. In the West Bank, authorities made widespread use of administrative detention without charge or trial. In Gaza, civilians continued to be tried before military courts. Courts in Gaza handed down death sentences. Palestinian armed groups in Gaza occasionally fired rockets indiscriminately into Israel. Two Israeli civilians were killed after lone attacks by Palestinian individuals.
BACKGROUND The two major political factions – Fatah which runs the authorities in the West Bank, and Hamas which runs the de facto administration in Gaza – remained split. On 15 January, President Abbas announced the postponement of parliamentary elections until further notice, citing Israel’s refusal to allow elections in East Jerusalem. Both authorities introduced emergency regulations in response to
Amnesty International Report 2020/21
