20th November, 2014
Police in Pakistan say that a Christian couple who were tortured and burned alive earlier this month after accusations of blasphemy were innocent, according to a report from Morning Star News.
Shahzad Masih, 32, and pregnant mother-of-four Shama Masih, 28, were burnt to death in a brick kiln on 4th November near Kot Radha Kishan in Punjab province. They had first been assaulted, had their legs broken and were dragged behind a tractor before being thrown in the kiln and Shama was reportedly wrapped in cotton wool so she would burn easier.
Kasur District Police Captain Jawad Qamar told Morning Star News that police had confirmed that Shama was illiterate and had no idea of the contents of pages that she had burned. “She was not guilty of blasphemy,” the news agency reported him as saying.
On 2nd November Shama was reportedly cleaning her quarters when she found amulets of her late father-in-law, who had used them in the practice of black magic. The amulets may have contained Koranic verses, and a Muslim co-worker, Muhammad Irfan, noticed the half-burnt papers and accused the family of desecrating the Koran, relatives said.
Morning Star News reports that under Pakistan”s widely condemned blasphemy statutes, intent must be shown for a conviction of desecrating the Koran.
Meanwhile, Morning Star News also reports that at a press conference in Islamabad on 16th November, family members reportedly said Islamists have offered them land and money as compensation for the murders in an attempt to stop them from prosecuting.
While police have reportedly arrested at least 50 of those named in a First Information Report (FIR), relatives of the couple said that influential Muslims of the area, including a Punjab province lawmaker, were issuing threats in an attempt to force them to reach an agreement with the killers. Shahzad Masih”s brother, Shahbaz Masih, and his wife Parveen Masih demanded that the government provide them with protection, saying they had already informed the Kasur District police officer of the threats.
They also demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the mob violence, adding that non-Muslim representatives should be included in the team.
“All we want is a fair investigation of the case,” said Shahbaz Masih, demanding that Justice Waheed Siddiqui, a retired Federal Shariat Court judge, be included in the judicial commission.
Among other demands, the deceased man”s family called for the commission and a Joint Investigation Team to make their reports publicly available immediately after completion. Masih also urged the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice and order an independent inquiry into the attack.
– DAVID ADAMS (with Morning Star News)
