|
On
2 February 2010, Parvez Aslam
Choudhry received a threatening phone call in
which the caller said that his office and home would be blown up. It is
believed that this threat is related to his work on the case of Qamar David, a Christian who is currently on trial
for charges of blasphemy. The case is now reaching a critical point, with
“final arguments” scheduled to be heard on 9 February 2010.
On
1 February 2010, Parvez Aslam
Choudhry was the subject of intimidation by a
mob of people that attended the latest hearing in the case of Qamar David. The mob declared that they would see Parvez Aslam Choudhry just before the hearing on 9 February 2010
and “perform their religious duty to kill blasphemers and supporters”.
Biography : Parvez Aslam Choudhry, is the chairman of a Lahore-based
legal group : the NGO "Legal Aid for Destitute and Settlement"
(LADS), which provides legal assistance to impoverished detainees and
works against discriminatory laws in Pakistan,
Parvez Aslam Choudhry is a Member High Court Bar Association and
Member Lahore Bar Association in Pakistan, and former
president Christian Lawyers Association Pakistan (CLAP).
Parvez Aslam Choudhry has defended
many blasphemy accused in the High Court Pakistan, both Muslim and
non-Muslim, and has been attacked on several occasions. He has been in
danger before because of his work against the blasphemy laws. In 2003 he
was assaulted while defending a blasphemy case. He filed a complaint with
the police, but says they took no action. He received frequent death
threats while defending blasphemy case against one Younis
Masih, a Christian who was allegedly charged
with flinging a burning matchstick on November 12, 2005 in the Quran Mahal, a Islamic school situated in the Sangla Hill stadium which caught fire and is at risk
of being sentenced to death.
Since
the trial of Younis Masih
began, he has been threatened outside the court and has also received
anonymous telephone death threats, warning him that his life will be in
danger if he continues to represent Younis Masih. Members of his family have also received
threats during the trial of Younis Masih.
Younis Masih is alleged to have made derogatory remarks
about the Prophet Mohammed at a religious service held at a house near
his own on 9 September 2005,
in the Chunngi Amar Sadu area of Lahore.
He denies this, and a local newspaper quoted his wife as saying that he
was attacked after he went to the house at around midnight and asked the
people inside not to sing so loudly, as he was in mourning for his
nephew, who had recently died. According to the local press, the next day
local Muslims looted a number of Christian homes, and witnesses said that
the police did not intervene.
The
Muslim cleric who had led the service filed a complaint against Younis Masih accusing him
of offences under Section 295C
of the Pakistan penal code, which deals with blasphemy. According to his
lawyer he is not facing any other charges. He was arrested on 11
September and taken to Kot Lakhpat
jail, in Lahore, where he is still held. A first bail petition was
rejected by the session's court in Lahore in November and a second
petition is now pending in the Lahore High Court.
Masih always
denied involvement in the desecration of the Quran, regarded by Muslims
as a holy book of Islam.
Parvez Aslam Choudhry has received
numerous anonymous telephone calls, and has been physically assaulted
outside the court. On 26 January 2006on his way to the jail where he hoped
to visit Younis Masih,
a van drove into his car causing him minor injuries. Some of the men in
the van got out and began to attack him as he sat in the car, but got
back in the van and drove off when friends of Parvez
Choudhry approached.
On 11 May 2006, unknown assailants deliberately rammed their car into Parvez Aslam Choudhry’s car, which then was pushed off the road
and fell forty feet. One passenger, lawyer Rana
Javed Rafiq, died
instantly. Parvez Aslam
Choudhry and his colleague Ijaz
Victor were hospitalized for a number of days after the incident. On two
occasions in February and July 2006, Parvez Aslam Choudhry was
threatened at gun point by Muslim men who warned that his life was in
danger if he continued to represent blasphemy cases.
On 6
April 2008, before the hearing in a blasphemy case in the
court, Parvez Aslam Choudhry was attacked
by a large mob when he arrived at court for the bail hearing. The
miror of the car was broken and car was damged also and the mob threatened to kill
him. On 8 April 2008, he received an anonymous telephone call threatening
both him and his family. He was reportedly told he was to be killed
because he was a Christian lawyer defending a Christian person accused of
blasphemy. Similar threats were also made against him inside the court by
witnesses.
On
25 April 2008, the car in which Parvez Aslam Choudhry, Aslam Masih, Ijaz Victor and Mubarak Masih were travelling was hit from behind and from
the right-hand side by a red van. The back windscreen was broken, the bumper
was damaged and there were minor injuries to all passengers. On 12 november 2008 after accepting the appeal of medi Hassann Parvez Aslam Choudhry received three life threats calls from
unknown callers. Later on 13 November 2008 and then 14 November 2008,
callers continously said that Parvez Aslam Choudhry was a blasphemr
and now he ans his family will be kill.
On
11 March 2009, police officers arrived at the house of Parvez Aslam Choudhry, in Youhanabad in Lahore. The police
informed her that Section 144 had been imposed in several cities of Punjab, effective for 3 days from 11 March, banning
any form of protest march or gathering of people. On 12 March 2009
lawyers from across Pakistan began a demonstration – "the lawyers’
long march"- which is due to culminate in a sit-in outside the
Parliament on 16 March. Parvez Aslam Choudhry has chosen
not to return to his home while these restrictions are in place for fear
that he will be detained.
In
2003, Parvez Aslam Choudhry has been awarded the Bishop John Joseph
Award by Pakistan Minorities Front for his outstanding work in defending
the rights of minorities at considerable personal risk.
Background Information :
Christians
comprise less than 3 percent of Pakistan's over 162-million mainly Muslim
people, experts say. (With BosNewsLife Research
and reports from Pakistan).Lawyers defending people accused of blasphemy
in Pakistan are facing growing threats to their lives. Death threats and
physical assault have become a regular occurrence for some lawyers, despite
the widespread misuse of the blasphemy laws. Those accused of blasphemy
also face similar threats. A human rights organization has urged
Pakistani government to ensure protection of lawyers defending people
accused of blasphemy in the country. It has also called for measures to
ensure that the blasphemy accused are treated as innocent until proven
guilty.
The
blasphemy laws of Pakistan, while purporting to protect Islam and the
religious sensitivities of the Muslim majority, are vaguely formulated and
arbitrarily enforced by the police and judiciary in a way which amounts
to harassment and persecution of religious minorities. Many of those
accused or suspected of blasphemy have been assaulted or tortured. People
detained on blasphemy charges in prisons including Kot
Lakhpat, where Younis
Masih is held, have been killed by fellow
detainees or prison wardens. Others suspected of blasphemy, but not under
arrest, have been unlawfully killed without police taking any action to
protect them.
Copyright IDHAE
Please take action on behalf of Parvez Aslam Choudhry.
Copy
the enclosed IDHAE letter and send it to the address provided.
ADRESSES:
President Asif Ali Zardari,
Office
of the President,
Aiwan-e-Sadr,
Islamabad,
Pakistan.
Fax:
+92 51 921 1018
Email: psecyp@isb.paknet.com.pk
LETTRE:
[your
name here]
Your Excellency,
I am writing to
draw your attention to the urgent case of my colleague Pakistani human
rights lawyer, Parvez Aslam
Choudhry, who is facing death threats in the
run-up to the final phases of a blasphemy trial, involving Mr. Qamar David.
My colleague Parvez Aslam Choudhry is a Member
High Court
Bar Association and Member
Lahore Bar Association in Pakistan,
and former president Christian Lawyers Association Pakistan (CLAP). Parvez Aslam Choudhry,
is the chairman of a Lahore-based legal group: the NGO "Legal Aid
for Destitute and Settlement" (LADS), which provides legal
assistance to impoverished detainees and works against discriminatory
laws in Pakistan.
In that purpose Parvez Aslam
Choudhry has defended many blasphemy accused in
the High Court Pakistan,
both Muslim and non-Muslim, and has been attacked on several occasions.
He has been in danger before because of his work against the blasphemy
laws. In 2009, he was nominated for the 2009, Ludovic –Trarieux Human Rights Prize awarded by the IDHAE
together with main bars and Law societies human rights groups in Europe
such as Paris, Brussels, Berlin,
Rome, Luxemburg e.a.
Since 2003, he
has been threatened outside the court and has also received anonymous
telephone death threats, warning him that his life will be in
danger.
Mr Parvez Aslam Choudhry has recently received death threats as a
result of his human rights activities.
Recently threats
against lawyer Choudhry have increased in
intensity since he took up the case of Qamar
David, a Christian on trial for charges of blasphemy.
At the latest
hearing in this long case, on 1 February 2010, lawyer Choudhry
experienced intimidation from a mob present in the courtroom, followed by
the statement that they would see him just before the next hearing on the
9th February and “perform their religious duty to kill blasphemer and
supporters”. On 2 February 2010, Parvez Aslam Choudhry received a
threatening phone call in which the caller said that his office and home
would be blown up.
These threats
are the most recent in a series of threats against Parvez
Aslam Choudhry. In
2003 he was assaulted while defending a blasphemy case. He filed a
complaint with the police, but says they took no action. In January 2006, a van drove
into his car causing him minor injuries. Some of the men in the van got
out and began to attack him as he sat in the car, but got back in the van
and drove off when friends of Parvez Choudhry approached.
On 11 May 2006,
unknown assailants deliberately rammed their car into Parvez
Aslam Choudhry’s car,
which then was pushed off the road and fell forty feet. One passenger,
lawyer Rana Javed Rafiq, died instantly. Parvez
Aslam Choudhry was
safe but ha was hospitalized for a number of days after the incident.
Since then, Parvez Aslam Choudhry’s car was assaulted on several times. He was threatened at gun point by
Muslim men who warned that his life was in danger if he continued to
represent blasphemy cases. In the same times from 2006 to 2009, anonymous
phone calls continuously said that Parvez Aslam Choudhry was a
blasphemer and now he and his family will be kill callers.
The EU has acted
on behalf of Mr. Choudhry in the past, in line
with EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. As the case of Omar David
reaches a critical stage, with “final arguments” scheduled to be heard on
9 February 2010, and taking into account the afore mentioned threats and
attempts on his life, we now urge of the Pakistani authorities I believe
that the intimidation and death threats against Parvez
Aslam Choudhry are
directly related to his work in defence of human rights, in particular
the rights of minorities at risk. I fears for the physical and
psychological security of Parvez Aslam Choudhry and.
I urge the
authorities in Pakistan
to please provide as soon as possible the following minimum protections
to Parvez Aslam Choudhry :
1. Carry out an
immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the death threats
and intimidation against Parvez Aslam Choudhry, with a view
to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in
accordance with international standards;
2. Provide a
secure means of transportation, and a police escort when Pares Aslam Choudhry is attending
trials;
2.More generally
provide police guards for his office and his family and particularly his
wife Neelam Shazia so
as to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity in the final
days of the trial of Qamar David
3. Guarantee in
all circumstances that human rights defenders in Pakistan are able to carry
out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals,
and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.
I look forward
to hearing from you with regards to this crucial matter.
Yours Sincerely,
[Your signature ]
PLEASE
ACT NOW.
THANK YOU.
|
