A Christian pastor and two other Christians have been arrested on trumped up “blasphemy” charges in Pakistan, and they are scheduled for a court appearance on October 16, 2015. Pastor Aftab Masih Gill, Latif Masih, and Shafqat Gill voluntarily surrendered to be arrested in the Gujrat district of Pakistan’s Punjab province in mid-August.
However, they are being denied a police escort for their protection, and fear extra-judicial death threats by extremists when going to the court appearance. They are being charged because of the word translating similar to “apostle” appeared on a poster, and in the misunderstanding they are being charged with blasphemy. According to Ahsan Masih Sandu, a local Christian leader, Aftab Gill printed the pamphlets to mark the anniversary of the death of his father, Fazal Masih. The pamphlet referred to biblical verses that used the word “prophet” to pay tribute to his father for years of service to the local religious minority community.
Local Christian leader Ahsan Masih Sandu stated: “We [Christians] have already apologized to our enraged Muslim brethren for this misunderstanding and asked for forgiveness, but they have rejected our apology and pressed the police to arrest the organizers.” Sandu also noted that three days before the arrests, local officials demolished the walls of St. Savior Church, a 120-year-old church, in order to build a parking lot. “We have lodged an official complaint with the district commissioner against the demolition of walls,” he said.
Their Muslim attorney is seeking their release over what he views as an “exaggeration” leading to the spurious charges.
“Christians accused and arrested for alleged blasphemy are in danger of being killed in an extrajudicial killing. As Fides learns, Protestant Pastor Aftab Gill, Unatan Gill and two other Christians currently detained in the central prison of Punjab, should appear in court on October 16, but the court has refused to provide them an escort. Family members fear that, in the transfer, they can be killed by the radicals. The four are accused of insulting Islam by publishing, on the occasion of a funeral, some posters in which the word ‘rasool’ (Urdu: Apostle) was used which is an attribute of the Prophet Muhammad (see Fides 20/08/2015). A month ago the court denied the release of the Christians, but granted bail to Muslim printmaker who printed the posters. The NGO CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement) says that ‘the judge was biased because the term ‘rasool’ is found in the Bible in Urdu and Christians had no blasphemous intention.’ Imtiaz Shakir, Muslim lawyer who defends Christians in court, told Fides: ‘The trial is an exaggeration, one is abusing the word rasool, which in Urdu means messenger. The accusation is preposterous, the whole system is biased, local authorities are looking for an opportunity for another extrajudicial killing’. ‘My religion – Shakir continues – does not allow me to endorse such injustice: these innocent people are suffering because of a misunderstanding of Islam. This is a failure of the judicial system and an abuse of power. Not only Christians but all Pakistani citizens who believe in the rule of law and justice should speak out to defend these innocent people.'”
Pastor Aftab Masih Gill, Latif Masih and Shafqat Gill at a police station in Gujrat (Source: UCA News)
A Pakistan Christian teacher at a school in a small village has beaten and tortured by extremists because of his Christian religion, in rejection and denial of his universal human rights.
Agenzia Fides reports that Saddique Azam, a Catholic teacher appointed headmaster at a primary school in the village of Pernawa was beaten and tortured by a group of extremist teachers who rejected his authority. Fides lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill states that “Christians in Pakistan continue to suffer discrimination because of their faith and given the existence of laws that legitimize discrimination.”
The report states that Pakistan teacher Saddique Azam was appointed as a headmaster of a school in the village of Pernawa three months ago, but extremists rejected his work there. He was called term “choora” pejorative used to describe Christians in Pakistan (it is the name of a low caste). Other non-Christian “teachers complained to the district authority of the Education Officer in Kasur because the appointment had been assigned to a Christian. Azam has been under massive pressure and was asked to resign, but he refused.” Fides reports that on October 5, 2015, extremist teachers “barged into his office and sat at his desk. When Azam walked in his office he asked for explanations, and after showing yet another refusal to resign, the three teachers started beating him, causing him several injuries and trauma, and was treated in hospital. The rest of the school staff intervened and called the police, who arrested the three attackers.”
Pakistan Christian Teacher – Saddique Azam (Source: Christians in Pakistan)
R.E.A.L. is now reporting on additional efforts by the Thailand government of Pakistan Christian refugees seeking asylum in Bangkok. We learned of additional arrests during the week of September 10. We reported on the first set of arrests, but in the interests of safety of the asylum seekers did not provide additional details to the public on further sets of arrests after that.
It is a challenge to determine how much information to share with the public in the interest of making people aware of the human rights issues, versus information which might jeopardize the safety of other Pakistan Christian asylum seekers. For this posting, we will simply state there were other arrests after the most recent round of arrests on September 10. We will continue to assess how much and what level of detail to release on a case-by-case basis.
Bangkok, Thailand: Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has received reports today (September 10, 2015) of massive immigration arrests of Pakistan Christian refugees seeking asylum, by the Thai police and the Thai army. Reports indicate that these Thai authorities raided the Delight H condominium in Bangkok, and they arrested between 250 to 500 Pakistan Christian asylum seekers. Reports indicate that the Thai authorities have been taking women, children, elderly, and men among the immigration arrests today, and taking these arrested Pakistan Christian asylum seekers to the over-crowded Immigration Detention Centre (IDC).
Pakistan Christians fled to Thailand to escape oppressive conditions in Pakistan where they were living under threats by extremists, who threatened violence against them for their Christian religion, including violence against Pakistan Christian churches and homes. Pakistan Christians have frequently been attacked by extremists who seek to deny their religious freedom and seek to persecute and oppress them. This has include arrests and of Pakistan Christians by the use of a “blasphemy” law, which extremists can use to harass and persecute others. Reports state that another Pakistan Christian Pervaiz Masih was reportedly arrested in Punjab, Pakistan recently (September 1, 2015) in Pakistan on a false blasphemy charge created to harass him for his religious freedom. The environment of Pakistan against Christians and specific threats to many Pakistan Christian individuals and their families have led them to flee to Thailand for asylum.
UPDATE: Smartphones of the arrested refugees were taken by Thailand immigration authorities. Thailand immigration authorities are going to release breastfeeding mothers after negotiations with UNHCR staff. R.E.A.L. will continue to provide updates as we receive reports.
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Government and Refugee Community Points of Contacts
The following are points of contact that we have reached on this topic within the government and the refugee community. These are being shared in the hopes that other human rights activists will also follow up with these individuals to make it clear that this is a shared concern for action on this urgent issue. If you have other useful / productive government contacts, please let us know at usa@realcourage.org, so that we can update this information.
Kingdom of Thailand
The Secretariat of the Prime Minister
Government House, 1 Phitsanulok Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister
FAX: 66 2 282 5131
UNHCR Regional Representative in Thailand
3rd Floor, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, 10200 Bangkok, Thailand
Telephone: 66 2 288 1858
FAX: 66 2 280 0555
Email: thaba@unhcr.org
UNHCR, New York: The Director of UNHCR Office in New York, P.O. Box 20 Grand NY 10017, Grand Central, 10017 New York, NY, United States,
Telephone: 1-212-963-0032
Fax: 1-212-963-0074
Email: usane@unhcr.org
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Suisse (Switzerland)
Telephone: +41 22 739 8111
FAX: +41 22 739 7377
A Pakistan Christian man, Allah Dita, was shot and beaten for seeking to prevent the harassment by extremists of Pakistan girls trying to attend church.
Reports by the Pakistan Christian Post and Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD) state that Allah Dita was attacked by two extremist men, who reportedly drove up to his house on motorbikes and forcibly entered his home. One of the extremists allegedly shot him with a pistol and the other man allegedly hit him with a club. Reports state the shooting took place at Village 136/16-L , Mian Chanu, District Khanewal on Saturday, July 11, 2015 at about 06:30 PM. Allah Dita was rescued and taken to the hospital, and was transferred to Hishtar Hospital Multan where he is under treatment in serious condition.
According to the Pakistan Christian Post, the “case FIR No. 233/2015 was registered on July 12, 2015, under Section 324 and 34 PPC at Police Station Saddar Mian Chanu.” The Legal Evangelical Association Development ( LEAD)‘s Sardar Mushtaq Gill is providing legal assistance to the victim in this case.
The reports state one of the attackers remains in jail, while another has been released on bail prior to trial.
We praise the courage of minority Pakistan Christians who courageously stand in support of their religious freedoms in the face of such threats and adversity.
Christians Worshiping in Khanewal – Voice Of God – REG Ministries Khurampura Khanewal Pakistan (Source Facebook)
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) calls for the rule of law and end to such mob terrorist behavior against Pakistan Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. R.E.A.L. supports our Universal Human Rights for all people, including the freedom of religion, equality, security, and dignity, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified as of June 23, 2010, as well as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Religious oppression of minorities in Pakistan is in direct contradiction to its international agreement of ICCPR Article 18, which includes “1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
We urge all – in Pakistan and around the world – to be responsible for equality and liberty.
The continuing injustice of Pakistan Christians struggling to seek asylum was publicized by the FOX News media on August 3, 2015 in an article entitled “Pakistani Christian refugees face ordeal in Thailand.” R.E.A.L. assisted the reporter Mary Kekatos in obtaining news sources and details. We urge the public to share this important information and to assist in obtaining financial assistance to Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand.
March 2015: Approximately 100 Pakistani Christian refugees sleep in one room in Thailand’s Immigration Detention Center. (British Pakistani Christian Association)
“Pakistani Christians escaping to Thailand from persecution in their native country are not receiving the protection they so desperately need as they face poverty, arrest and possible deportation.
Thousands of Pakistani Christians have fled their homes due the country’s reported mistreatment of religious minorities. Fleeing to Southeast Asian countries due to how cheap and easy it is to maintain a tourist visa, these Christians soon discover they are not to be treated well in their new home either.
Because Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, and does not have a formal national asylum framework, the Pakistani Christians are not treated as refugees or asylum seekers but as illegal immigrants. Often, Thailand will not grant asylum status to those declared genuine refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“The poor can’t and don’t escape but the middle and upper classes flee to Thailand,” said Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, who has issued an appeal and a petition calling for help for the refugees. “[Back in Pakistan] they are doctors, lawyers, professors, politicians.”
“Pakistan’s blasphemy law has been used in a way to target religious minorities,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch in a separate interview. “There has been violence perpetrated against people accused of blasphemy. When facing that kind of persecution, many have no choice but to leave.”
Those fleeing Pakistan face tough roads. They are often stopped by border guards when suspected of being Christians even with a legal visa or plane tickets. Many are not allowed to cross the border until they have paid a bribe or a fine. When Raymond John and his family crossed the border, they had to pay the guards 112,000 Pakistani rupees ($1100).
“We refused twice and they would not let us pass but on the third time we finally paid,” John said.
In European countries and the United States, it can be an arduous and expensive process to apply for a tourist visa. Although easy to obtain one from Thailand, the Pakistanis’ stay is anything but easy. Upon arrival, the refugees realize they cannot attain citizenship and cannot buy property. Even if a Pakistani marries a Thai citizen, they are not granted legal citizenship and their status is returned to refugee upon their spouse’s death.
Farrukh Saif, head of the Farrukh Saif Foundation dedicated to helping persecuted Pakistani Christian refugees, has criticized the delay of the UNHCR to classify the Christians who have fled to Thailand as refugees, saying it affects the livelihood of those seeking asylum.
“According to a mandate, in 90 days they have to determine the status of these people as refugees, but in reality it can take four to five years,” he said. “If a minor, a child, cannot go to school for four to five years, what is his future? A whole generation of Pakistani Christians in Bangkok is being destroyed.”
UNHCR’s Field Media Officer for Thailand, Vivian Tan, said that by nature, refugee status determination (RSD) is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
“In many urban settings, the demand for RSD exceeds processing capacities. In Bangkok, UNHCR has been working to speed up processing times,” she said.
Refugees would agree that the process has been anything but speedy. Sunny Gil arrived in Thailand in August 2013 and was given an appointment with the UNHCR for an interview in May 2015 to be assigned refugee status. When the time came for the interview, however, it was postponed for a year.
“It is silly – the excuses that they give for postponing the interviews. It is such a big organization and they should be able to help us,” he said.
Additionally, because these Pakistanis do not have refugee status, they are not allowed to work and therefore have no legal income. They often make their money doing illegal jobs or begging and seeking charity from churches.
“We want to work and we want to earn and support our families on our own,” said Cyril Lamran of the Christian Asylum Seekers Association of Thailand and a refugee himself. “But they’re not giving us the opportunity for us to earn and not providing us basic human rights.”
Tourist visas last up to two months after which they can only be renewed if the applicant is working. Because, however, the Pakistani Christians are treated as illegal immigrants and are unable to work, their visas cannot be extended making them subject to arrest and detention at any point in time.
In March, upwards of 400 Pakistani Christian refugees were reported to have been arrested. Homes were raided by the Thai immigration police and the arrestees were taken to be held at the central jail or the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in the capital of Bangkok.
Former inmates speak of horrendous conditions including cramped cells, inadequate nutrition and children being incarcerated with adults. In the central jail, the men are bound in shackles and forced to stand in the hot sun. In the IDC, up to 200 people can be packed in a room meant for 100 leaving very little space to properly sleep. Many have since been released for up to a year until they get a proper visa, otherwise they face being put back in the IDC or being deported back to Pakistan.
While Gil said he could perhaps see why people were being sent to the IDC (his own sister-in-law was held in central jail and the IDC for one month), he could not understand the need to send refugees to the former.
“The central jail is for criminals, not asylum seekers, but they put us in jail like we are criminals,” he said. “Even though they are not signatory, there is something called human rights.”
Other concerns also plague these families. The refugees do not have the money to cover medical costs and multiple families often are forced to share a single room because they cannot afford the rent.
Currently, there are an estimated 4500 Pakistani Christian refugees living in Thailand and while they wait for help, activists stress the dire need for action to be taken, requesting the international community to hasten the determination process of the UNHCR.
“The UNHCR is the mother of human rights but they’re essentially denying human rights,” John said. “The West has to know the persecution the Christians face in Pakistan and in Thailand. Who will speak for us when those who speak will speak for the government?” “
Father James Channan, O.P., the former Vice Provincial of the Dominican order in Pakistan, is director of the Dominican-run Peace Center in Lahore, Pakistan, and provided an interview to a Catholic charity on the conditions of persecution of minority Pakistan Christians. In that interview, when asked about the number of Pakistan Christians imprisoned for blasphemy, he stated: ” there are 130 Christians whose trials are proceeding.” He also made clear that this cruel and unjust “blasphemy law” was regularly abused as “a tool to settle business disputes or personal vendettas.”
Father Channan also reported that this blasphemy law is also used against Muslims (who are the vast majority of Pakistanis), with 950 Muslims charged with blasphemy (as R.E.A.L has also reported on). He clarified however that: “there is a big difference between accusations of Muslims and Christians: if one Muslim is accused, just one Muslim is accused. But in the case of a Christian being accused, an entire community, an entire neighborhood is accused. And in several cases the entire Christian village or a Christian neighborhood has been burned to ashes.”
Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified as of June 23, 2010, as well as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Pakistan religious oppression of minorities, such as its repressive Blasphemy Law is in direct contradiction to its international agreement of ICCPR Article 18, which includes “1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
We urge all – in Pakistan and around the world – to be responsible for equality and liberty.
The Pakistan Christian Post reports on a terrorist shooting of a Christian husband and wife, Aleem Masih and his wife Nadia Masih, by religious extremists who opposed their marriage and religious freedom. The husband Aleem Masih was murdered by gunshots and his wife Nadia remains in the critical condition in the hospital after surgery to remove bullets from her stomach.
The terrorist attack took place on July 30, 2015, in a village near Youhanabad (11 miles from Lahore), after repeated threats by Nadia’s family due to her religious beliefs.
The Pakistan Christian couple had been repeatedly threatened by the wife’s family, reportedly due to her conversion from Islam to Christianity, and the couple had filed court papers to seek protection from such threats. After repeated threats, the couple had fled to Narang Mandi (about 37 miles away from Lahore), and where they could not be found. But when Nadia went to a doctor in a village near Youhanabad, she was apparently recognized. Members of her family came to attack her and husband.
The report states Nadia’s father (Muhammad Din Meo) kidnapped the couple by gunpoint and drove them to a remote location where Nadia’s brothers brutally beat and shot them. The terrorist attack resulted in the death of Aleem Masih and serious injury of his wife Nadia.
Aleem Masih was shot in his ankle, stomach, and through his mouth, which instantly killed him. Nadia’s brother Muhammad Azhar shot her repeatedly and believed that she was dead, and sought to brag about his terrorist murder on the Christian woman. The terrorist called all Christians “dogs” and claimed that they all should be killed.
Muhammad Azhar was arrested by the police. The Pakistan Christian Post reports that the “FIR (First Information report) got registered under sections 302, 324, 34, 148, 149 PPC and FIR No. is 945/15. ”
When the police came to arrest Muhammad Azhar, Nadia Masih was found to be still alive. Local supporters of Muhammad Azhar’s terrorist attack prevented police from getting a statement from Nadia Masih on the attacks. She remains in the hospital in critical condition. It is uncertain if she will survive.
Naeem Masih, the brother of murdered Christian Aleem Masih states that his friend, Hanooq Yaqoob, witnessed the terrorist shooting of the Christian couple. The Pakistan Christian Post reports that Naeem Masih’s wife stated that she “told the Voice team that she heard the people of the Village shouting and rejoicing at the murder of Aleem and saying that they can send their sons to death happily if they kill more Christians.”
In March 2015, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) reported on the terrorist attacks on Protestant and Catholic Christian Churches by the Taliban killing 15 Christians and injuring 80. These terrorist attacks were also in the Youhanabad area near Lahore. Pakistan Christian Congress leader Nazir Bhatti stated in March 2015 that “Violence is rising against Christians in Punjab province where incidents of burning alive Christian children, women and men happen on pretext to blasphemy law while setting on fire homes of Christians is matter of every week and culprits walk free on street.” Members of civil society have been calling for law enforcement and government action to stop such continuing terrorism. Geo TV reports that suspects have been arrested in the March 2015 attack, but details are not yet available.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) calls for the rule of law and end to such mob terrorist behavior against Pakistan Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. R.E.A.L. supports our Universal Human Rights for all people, including the freedom of religion, equality, security, and dignity, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified as of June 23, 2010, as well as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Pakistan religious oppression of minorities, such as its repressive Blasphemy Law is in direct contradiction to its international agreement of ICCPR Article 18, which includes “1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
We urge all – in Pakistan and around the world – to be responsible for equality and liberty.
The families of two Pakistan Christian brothers, Qaisar and Amoon, arrested for blasphemy are calling for Christians to assist in providing legal support for their defense. They are in the Jhelum District Jail, after being on the run for four years as a result of wild “blasphemy” charges against them, made in retaliation for one of their friend making a remark about someone’s sister. When the brothers heard that blasphemy charges were being filed, they reportedly fled Pakistan, including spending time in Thailand, where they could not stay. When they returned to Pakistan, they were arrested for under the false blasphemy charge used to bully and persecute Pakistan Christians.
As reported by Asia News, the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), Amoon’s wife Huma has done all she could to get her husband released, but has failed. However, she has not lost hope and finally approached the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) in June of this year for legal aid and support.
Asia News reports: “CLAAS providing both brothers with free legal aid and have visited them in Jhelum jail. CLAAS is going to apply for their bail once the Eid holidays are over, so please remember CLAAS’s lawyers and the families in your prayers.”
Pakistan’s Supreme Court decided today to suspend the execution sentence of Pakistan Christian women Asia Bibi, who was wrongly convicted of blasphemy. The Supreme Court suspended her death sentence until she has the opportunity to appeal her case. She has been “leave to appeal” her conviction of blasphemy.
She was the first woman given the death penalty for “blasphemy” and she has been imprisoned for five years, while her husband and four children had to go into hiding. Human rights activists around the world have called for her release. Pakistan Christians are regularly oppressed as minorities in Pakistan by those making up charges that they have “blasphemed” the Islamic religion, which results in such Pakistan Christians being arrested, or even killed in the streets by mobs.
BBC reports: “thousands have protested against her and said they would kill her if she were ever released – including the imam in her own village.”
Aasia Bibi, Pakistan Christian Woman Death Sentence for “Blasphemy” – Suspended for Now
