Featured Discussions - The 4 Freedoms Library2024-03-29T08:06:22Zhttp://4freedoms.com/group/pakistan/forum/topic/list?feed=yes&xn_auth=no&featured=1Burial of burned alive Christian (Wife raped)tag:4freedoms.com,2010-03-29:3766518:Topic:201312010-03-29T17:53:55.000ZIndoeuropeanhttp://4freedoms.com/profile/Indoeuropean
<p><strong>03/24/2010 21:08<br></br></strong>PAKISTAN</p>
<p>[ <a href="http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Rawalpindi,-Christian-burned-alive-is-buried.-Police-suspected-of-setting-him-on-fire-17975.html">http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Rawalpindi,-Christian-burned-alive-is-buried.-Police-suspected-of-setting-him-on-fire-17975.html</a> ]</p>
<p><br></br><span class="articolo_dossier">Rawalpindi, Christian burned alive is buried. Police suspected of setting him on fire</span> <br></br><span class="autore">by…</span></p>
<p><strong>03/24/2010 21:08<br/></strong>PAKISTAN</p>
<p>[ <a href="http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Rawalpindi,-Christian-burned-alive-is-buried.-Police-suspected-of-setting-him-on-fire-17975.html">http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Rawalpindi,-Christian-burned-alive-is-buried.-Police-suspected-of-setting-him-on-fire-17975.html</a> ]</p>
<p><br/><span class="articolo_dossier">Rawalpindi, Christian burned alive is buried. Police suspected of setting him on fire</span> <br/><span class="autore">by Fareed Khan</span><br/><span class="sottotitolo">Arshed Masih's funeral was held today amid tight security. The silence of the Pakistani media and government on the matter. AsiaNews sources denounce the attempt at misdirection and reveal the last words of the victim: "The police set me on fire" following the instructions of the Muslim employer. In the past his wife repeatedly raped by officers.</span> <br/><br/><a title="" href="http://www.asianews.it/files/img/Pakistan-_uomo_bruciato4_(600_x_450).jpg" rel="lightbox"><img alt="" src="http://www.asianews.it/files/img/size2/Pakistan-_uomo_bruciato4_(600_x_450).jpg" align="left" border="0"/></a></p>
<div><p><span class="articolo_inside"><span>Rawalpindi (AsiaNews) - the funeral of Arshed Masih, a 38 year-old Pakistani Christian, burned alive because he refused to convert to Islam was held today in Rawalpindi, under tight security. Hundreds of people attended the funeral, including members of civil society and NGO representatives. So far the police have arrested none of the alleged perpetrators and neither have steps been taken by the Federal Government or Ministry of minority groups. Meanwhile, more details have emerged on the crime: a well-informed source has told <i>AsiaNews</i> that police officers were the ones to set fire to the man, on the "instructions" of <span> </span>Arshed Masih.</span></span></p>
<p><span>The 38 year-old Pakistani Christian, married and father of three children, aged7 to 12, died on 22 March following the serious injuries sustained during the assault. He suffered burns on 80% of his body excluding any possibility of salvation. The violence of his assailants was sparked by the man’s refusal to convert to Islam. </span></p>
<p><span><span>Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Justice and Peace of the Catholic Church of Pakistan (NCJP), confirmed to <i>AsiaNews</i>, his "strongest condemnation of this act brutal" and underlined that "a team has reached Rawalpindi and launched a parallel investigation into the facts”. He adds that "soon will we release a report, after proper verification of all elements”. The activist denounces, with regret, the silence of the Pakistani media about the incident and the lack of initiatives from the federal government and the Ministry of minority groups. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Meanwhile, rumours have begun circulating that Arshed Masih set fire to himself to protest against repeated violence and torture of his wife Martha Arshed, by police. The abuse allegedly took place in the police station, where the woman was summoned several times by officers after a complaint of theft by Sheikh Mohammad Sultan, the employer of the Christian couple. In the house of wealthy Muslim businessman cash for a value of 500 thousand rupees (about 6 thousand dollars) has disappeared. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Christian sources for <i>AsiaNews</i> in Pakistan deny this version, noting that some "elements" are casting doubt on the sexual violence and overturning the facts "to exonerate the employer and the police." An eyewitness, present in the hospital when Arshed Masih - still conscious - recounted the events to the investigators, says that "it was the police to set fire" to the man. The victim also added that "the police carried out the instructions of Sheikh Mohammad Sultan, at the scene along with other extremists."</span></span></p>
<p><span>Since 2005 Arshed Masih and his wife had worked and lived on the estate of the late Sheikh Mohammad Sultan. The pressure on them to renounce Christianity had lately become incessant. The owner had come so far as to threaten "dire consequences", to persuade them to embrace Islam. The couple were also accused of a recent theft by the owner who has promised to drop the complaint for their conversion. </span></p>
<p><i><span>BosNewsLife.com</span></i> <span>reports that the Muslim businessman has declined to comment on the crime.</span> However some eyewitnesses have seen him near the place where the accident occurred, but it is unclear whether he actively participated in the attack. <span>Their children - adds the site - are sleeping in the hospital because they are homeless.</span> The mother is still in shock and is unable to speak. </p>
</div>
<br/><table cellspacing="0" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody><tr><td class="funzioni_articolo" width="50%"><a href="http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Rawalpindi,-Christian-burned-alive-is-buried.-Police-suspected-of-setting-him-on-fire-17975.html#">e-mail this to a friend <img src="http://www.asianews.it/inc/templates/files/mail.gif" align="middle" border="0"/></a></td>
<td class="funzioni_articolo" width="50%"><a href="http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Rawalpindi,-Christian-burned-alive-is-buried.-Police-suspected-of-setting-him-on-fire-17975.html#">printable version <img src="http://www.asianews.it/inc/templates/files/print.gif" align="middle" border="0"/></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br/> Petition: Free Christian Hector Aleem, Human Rights Activist since 1996, now jailed and torturedtag:4freedoms.com,2010-03-06:3766518:Topic:189812010-03-06T18:40:51.000ZIndoeuropeanhttp://4freedoms.com/profile/Indoeuropean
<p></p>
<p></p>
<center><font size="-1"><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?HAleem">View Current Signatures</a> - <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/HAleem/petition-sign.html">Sign the Petition</a></font></center>
<p></p>
<hr width="20%"></hr><p></p>
<blockquote><p><font size="+1">SAVE MY FATHER HECTOR ALEEM</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="+1">To: Pakistan Government</font></p>
<p>At a time that the United Nations calls Switzerland's ban on new minarets "clearly…</p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<center><font size="-1"><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?HAleem">View Current Signatures</a> - <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/HAleem/petition-sign.html">Sign the Petition</a></font></center>
<p></p>
<hr width="20%"/>
<p></p>
<blockquote><p><font size="+1">SAVE MY FATHER HECTOR ALEEM</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="+1">To: Pakistan Government</font></p>
<p>At a time that the United Nations calls Switzerland's ban on new minarets "clearly discriminatory and deeply divisive,” and the whole world is condemning the swiss for their vote, I would like to bring to the attention of the world my plight. <br/><br/>My name is Mehwish Aleem and my father (Hector Aleem) is a human rights activist in Pakistan. He has been working as a human rights activist since 1996. He is running an NGO with the name of PEACE WORLDWIDE. Hector Aleem has worked for Christians and Muslims without prejudice. But today he is in jail and could be killed at any time. <br/><br/>My father was working for a church destroyed by CDA (capital development authority) in Islamabad Pakistan. The church was destroyed because according to CDA it was built illegally. The charge was false. <br/><br/>There are many mosques in Islamabad (the capital of Pakistan) that are built with no permit, but no one will dare to touch them. For example, there was a vacant lot near my house and a Maulvi (Muslim leader) started to build a mosque on it. The land belonged to an absentee owner. When the owner learned about it, he started to destroy the illegally built mosque on his property. Hundreds of Muslims rioted and threatened to kill the owner of the land. As the result he give up his land in order to save his life. The government did not intervene. Churches on the other hand are destroyed by the governments’ own agents. <br/><br/>When Hector Aleem objected to the destruction of the church he faced with several lawsuits ranging from fraud to criminal charges. He fought all of them in the courts and proved his innocence. <br/><br/>His opponents tried to assassinate him several times. The Maulvies threatened him that if he continues to work for the church they would kill him and his sons, and would force his dughters to convert to Islam. <br/><br/>During this time Hector Aleem received a Peace award by Mr. Yousaf Raza Gillani the prime minister of Pakistan. One month later, on 21st January, 2009 he was arrested by the police. They severely beat him and tortured him mentally and physically. After 24 hours of not knowing what were the charges, we were told that his offence is blasphemy, a charge that caries death penalty in Pakistan. <br/><br/>According to the first information report someone sent a blasphemous message to a leader of Sunni Tehreek (a Muslim extremist organization) and that sender had once contacted my father. So my father is guilty by association. Since they could not find the offender, they arrested my father. <br/><br/>Hector Aleem, is 51 years old and is a heart patient. He is not allowed to take his medication and is denied visitation. During his trial a large mob gathered in front of the court chanting slogans against him and threatened the judge that if he releases my father they will kill him themselves and they will destroy the court and will also kill the judge and the lawyer who defended my father. Under the mob’s pressure, the judge refused bail. The lawyer of the plaintiffs, who is a Maulvi, told the judge that if he releases my father, he (my father) will be killed as soon as he steps outside the court. <br/><br/>Then on 24 June 2009, chief justice of Pakistan Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed Chaudry granted my father bail, but the Maulvies lodged many other criminal cases against him so that he cannot come out. <br/><br/>Hector Aleem is still in jail. It is one year since his capture. The police are in cahoots with the Maulvies. Once two policemen went to my father’s cell and told him that even if he is granted a bail they will not let a blasphemer out. They will lodge so many cases against him that he will not be able to bear them. Soon after that they proceeded to lodge more charges against my father. They used to take him to the police station every fifteen days, where they beat him and torture him in front of the Maulvies and the Taliban. <br/><br/>I am begging for help. I plead to all those who champion the right of Muslims to build more minarets to also care about the minorities in Islamic countries. We are fighting for our lives. Are Muslim minarets more important than our lives of non-Muslims? <br/><br/>Please sign my petition. Please write to the Pakistani authorities listed bellow and ask them to release my father Hector Aleem as soon as possible. He is not guilty of any crime and the accusations of blasphemy that are made against him are false. They want to destroy him because he objected to the destruction of a church. <br/><br/>Today, all our family is in hiding. All of us have received death threats. My siblings and I have left our studies and hide for our safety. There is no future for us in our country. If my father is released he will be killed by the mob. We need to get out of Pakistan. Please help us if you can. We don’t know where to turn and whom to ask for help. <br/><br/>There is so much hoo-ha about the ban of minarets in Switzerland, but will anyone hear our cry? <br/><br/>Please make our cry reach to the ears of those who care more for human life than building minarets. We have done nothing wrong. Our only crime is to be Christians in an Islamic country. <br/><br/>Please contact these authorities and tell them to release my father. They know Hector Aleem is innocent, they are afraid of the mob. Your concern will give them the excuse to act.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?HAleem">The Undersigned</a></p>
<p></p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<center><p><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?HAleem">View Current Signatures</a></p>
</center>