Two leaders shot outside courtroom after handwriting report threatened to exonerate them.
FAISALABAD, Pakistan, July 19 (CDN) — Today suspected Islamic extremists outside a courthouse here shot dead two Christians accused of “blaspheming” Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
The gunmen shot the Rev. Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and his 30-year-old brother Sajid Emmanuel, days after handwriting experts on Wednesday (July 14) notified police that signatures on papers denigrating Muhammad did not match those of the accused. Expected to be exonerated soon, the two leaders of United Ministries Pakistan were being led in handcuffs back to jail under police custody when they were shot at 2:17 p.m., Christians present said.
Rizwan Paul, president of advocacy group Life for All, said five armed, masked men opened fire on the two Christians amid crowds outside Faisalabad District and Sessions Court.
“Five armed, masked men attacked and opened fire on the two accused,” Paul said. “Sajid died on the spot,” while Rashid Emmanuel died later.
CLF President Khalid Gill said the bodies of the two Christians bore cuts and other signs of having been tortured, including marks on their faces, while the brothers were in police custody.
As news of the murders reached the slain brothers’ neighborhood of Dawood Nagar, Waris Pura, Faisalabad, Christians came out of their homes to vent their anger, Pagaan said. Police fired teargas cannons at Christian protestors, who in turn threw stones.
“The situation is very tense,” Gill said. “Police have arrested eight people for damaging property and burning tires.”
Paul of Life for All said tensions remained high.
“The situation in Faisalabad has deteriorated,” Paul said. “Indiscriminate shootings between Christians and Muslims have ensued. The situation has become very volatile, and local police have initiated a curfew.”
The courthouse shooters escaped, and Punjab’s inspector general has reportedly suspended the superintendent of police and his deputy superintendent for their failure to provide security to the slain brothers.
Lynch Mob Mentality
The report by handwriting experts to Civil Lines police station in Faisalabad presented a major setback to the case filed against Emmanuel and his younger brother under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy laws.
Muslims staged large demonstrations in the past week calling for the death penalty for the brothers, who were arrested when Rashid Emmanuel agreed to meet a mysterious caller at a train station but was instead surrounded by police carrying photocopied papers that denigrated Muhammad – supposedly signed by the pastor and his brother and bearing their telephone numbers.
The Muslim who allegedly placed the anonymous call to the pastor, Muhammad Khurram Shehzad, was the same man who filed blasphemy charges against Emmanuel and his brother and was already present at the Civil Lines police station when the pastor and an unnamed Christian arrived in handcuffs, said Pagaan of Harmony Foundation. Civil Lines police station is located in Dawood Nagar, Waris Pura, in Faisalabad.
Pagaan said that on July 1 Rashid Emmanuel received an anonymous phone call from a man requesting to see him, but the pastor declined as he was due to lead a prayer service in Railways Colony, Faisalabad. After the service, Emmanuel received a call at about 8 p.m. from the same man, who this time described himself as a respectable school teacher.
Pagaan said that Emmanuel agreed to meet him at the train station, accompanied by the unnamed Christian. As they reached the station, Civil Lines police surrounded them, showed them photocopies of a three-page document and arrested them for blaspheming Muhammad.
Sources told Compass that police released the young, unnamed Christian after a couple hours, and on July 4 officers arrested Emmanuel’s younger brother, a graduate student of business.
On July 10 and 11 hundreds of enraged Muslims paraded to the predominantly Christian colony of Dawood Nagar calling for the immediate death of the two Christian brothers. Some chanted, “Hang the blasphemers to death immediately,” sources said, adding that the mob hurled obscenities at Christ, Christians and Christianity.
Islamic extremists led the protests, and most participants were teenagers who pelted the main gate of the Waris Pura Catholic Church with stones, bricks and shards of glass and pounded the gate with bamboo clubs.
Some 500 protestors gathered on July 10, while on July 11 more than 1,600 demonstrated, according to Joseph Francis, head of Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement. Fearful Christians locked their homes, while others fled the area, as the demonstrators had threatened a repeat of the violence wreaked on Korian and Gojra towns in July and August 2009.
Nazim Gill, a resident of Waris Pura, told Compass that Muslims burned tires and chanted slogans against Christians last week, and that on Friday (July 16) announcements blared from mosque loudspeakers calling on Muslims “burn the houses of Christians.”
Khalid Gill contacted authorities to request help, and police forbid anyone to do any damage.
Saying “continuous gunshots have been heard for the past five hours now,” Kashif Mazhar of Life for All today said that Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif had ordered the provincial inspector general to restore law and order and arrest the murderers of the Christian brothers.
Other Victims
Khurram Shehzad had filed the blasphemy case on July 1 under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which are commonly abused to settle personal scores.
Section 295-C states that “whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) shall be punishable with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall be liable to fine.”
Section 295-A of the blasphemy laws prohibits injuring or defiling places of worship and “acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens.” Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or a use of its extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.
Khalid Gill said Khurram Shehzad, a merchant of Rail Bazar, Faisalabad, filed the charge after his servant told him that the two Christians had put up blasphemous posters at a truck station.
The Emmanuel brothers had been running United Ministries Pakistan for the last two years in Dawood Nagar, area Christians said.
The last known Christian to die as a result of a false blasphemy charge was Robert Danish on Sept. 15, 2009. The 22-year-old Christian was allegedly tortured to death while in custody in Sialkot on a charge of blaspheming the Quran. Local authorities claimed he committed suicide.
Area Christians suspect police killed Danish, nicknamed “Fanish” or “Falish” by friends, by torturing him to death after the mother of his Muslim girlfriend contrived a charge against him of desecrating Islam’s scripture. The allegation led to calls from mosque loudspeakers to punish Christians, prompting an Islamic mob to attack a church building in Jathikai village on Sept. 11 and the beating of several of the 30 families forced to flee their homes. Jathikai was Danish’s native village.
Three prison officials were reportedly suspended after Danish died in custody.
In other recent blasphemy cases, on July 5 a Christian family from Model Town, Lahore, fled their home after Yousaf Masih, his wife Bashrian Bibi and their son-in-law Zahid Masih were accused of blaspheming the Quran. Some 2,000 Muslims protested and tried to burn their house, Christian sources aid.
Police have filed a case against them due to pressure from Muslim mobs, but local sources say the allegations grew out of personal enmity.
Faisalabad was the site of the suicidal protest of Bishop John Joseph. The late Roman Catholic bishop of Faisalabad took his own life in May 6, 1998 to protest the injustice of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
Taken from: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Persecution continues in Sri Lanka
In the aftermath of the Tsunami that occured on 26th December 2010, through the genorosity of the general public we were able to take fund to Sri Lanka to build a children's home. Running costs were to be paid for by the farm that was also being run there. It would be good for the children's education to learn how to take care of animals and do some small scale farming.
We began building in 2005 but only at the beginning of this year did the government give us permission to start using the project as children's home. However not everyone is happy. The village people are normally low educated people who are being abused by the monks for their purposes. They fear that if people turn to Christianity, they will forsake the temple ... which means they will not bring any financial offering and the monks will lose out. The Christian population of Sri Lanka and especially the evangelical population is so small. This is ridiculous! Just read part of an email that a friend sent to me:
Soon after the family camp, the villagers came and protested at the campsite at waga.There were real problems as usual.We didn't know there was opposition growing below in the village.The Buddhism protection society had a big protest meeting opposite the Home. About 600 people gathered including 10 leading monks,Government officials,Politicians the Police etc.The main issue was that under the guise of a children's home we were building a Church. They said that a Christian home is not necessary for the village and the usual accusations of Conversion with foreign funds etc.We had to go to the Hanwella Police and as it is in SL the police was on the side of the monks and the villages and referred the mater to Courts.
As we had all the Government approval the accusation was the piggery was a health hazard to the village.When we produces the Environment Authouritys license which is valid for three years,the Judge called for a report from the Authority.His report was that there was some irregularities we were given one month to correct it.They raised that a children's home can not have a farm as it affects the children.Today we are going to the probation office to keep them informed of the development.
We began building in 2005 but only at the beginning of this year did the government give us permission to start using the project as children's home. However not everyone is happy. The village people are normally low educated people who are being abused by the monks for their purposes. They fear that if people turn to Christianity, they will forsake the temple ... which means they will not bring any financial offering and the monks will lose out. The Christian population of Sri Lanka and especially the evangelical population is so small. This is ridiculous! Just read part of an email that a friend sent to me:
Soon after the family camp, the villagers came and protested at the campsite at waga.There were real problems as usual.We didn't know there was opposition growing below in the village.The Buddhism protection society had a big protest meeting opposite the Home. About 600 people gathered including 10 leading monks,Government officials,Politicians the Police etc.The main issue was that under the guise of a children's home we were building a Church. They said that a Christian home is not necessary for the village and the usual accusations of Conversion with foreign funds etc.We had to go to the Hanwella Police and as it is in SL the police was on the side of the monks and the villages and referred the mater to Courts.
As we had all the Government approval the accusation was the piggery was a health hazard to the village.When we produces the Environment Authouritys license which is valid for three years,the Judge called for a report from the Authority.His report was that there was some irregularities we were given one month to correct it.They raised that a children's home can not have a farm as it affects the children.Today we are going to the probation office to keep them informed of the development.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
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