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Umar Cheema -- an investigative reporter for Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, The News -- has officially told the globally renowned and New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that he was “sexually assaulted in an Islamabad suburb in September 2010,” a report obtained by Press TV reveals.
Cheema says he was on his way home from dinner when men in black commando garb stopped his car, blindfolded him and drove him to a house on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
There, he adds, he was beaten and stripped naked. His head and eyebrows were shaved, and he was videotaped in humiliating positions by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents. Six hours later, he was dumped on a road 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Islamabad.
“Ten minutes after I was free, I started thinking about what I should do,” Cheema said.
“The decision was I had to speak up. Speaking out has made me stronger and made my enemies more coward. Their efforts to intimidate me backfired.”
Cheema, 35, had written several articles for The News that were critical of the conduct and performance of the Pakistani Army and intelligence services and detailed accusations of corruption against President Asif Ali Zardari.
His ordeal is not uncommon for a journalist or politician who are frequently tormented or even killed by the ISI.
Umar Cheema -- an investigative reporter for Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, The News -- has officially told the globally renowned and New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that he was “sexually assaulted in an Islamabad suburb in September 2010,” a report obtained by Press TV reveals.
Cheema says he was on his way home from dinner when men in black commando garb stopped his car, blindfolded him and drove him to a house on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
There, he adds, he was beaten and stripped naked. His head and eyebrows were shaved, and he was videotaped in humiliating positions by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents. Six hours later, he was dumped on a road 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Islamabad.
“Ten minutes after I was free, I started thinking about what I should do,” Cheema said.
“The decision was I had to speak up. Speaking out has made me stronger and made my enemies more coward. Their efforts to intimidate me backfired.”
Cheema, 35, had written several articles for The News that were critical of the conduct and performance of the Pakistani Army and intelligence services and detailed accusations of corruption against President Asif Ali Zardari.
His ordeal is not uncommon for a journalist or politician who are frequently tormented or even killed by the ISI.
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