Naushad Waheed

Profession: Artist and dissident.

Date of arrest: 9 December 2001

Sentence: Fifteen years' imprisonment.

Expires: 8 December 2016

Details of trial: On 14 October 2002 Waheed was tried in the Criminal Court without access to a lawyer or the opportunity to defend himself. He was charged with treason, reportedly because of his involvment in public debates which were deemed critical of the government, and in correspondence with Amnesty International detailing human rights abuses.

Conditions in prison: Waheed shared a cell with about twenty other prisoners. In an account smuggled out of jail he describes horrific scenes of torture inflicted on himself and others, including children.

Health concerns: Suffers from acute ulcers, a kidney infection and spinal injuries mainly caused by months of torture while in detention.

Previous political imprisonment: Waheed is known for being an outspoken critic of the current regime of President Gayyoum. In 1999 he was detained for 4 months for drawing a political cartoon in a popular magazine, the Hukurum, and was a PEN case.

Honorary member of: English PEN

Released: 22 February 2006