INDONESIA: Conviction of Ahmadyah victim undermines constitutional protections

News / AHRC News / INDONESIA: Conviction of Ahmadyah victim …

INDONESIA: Conviction of Ahmadyah victim undermines constitutional protections

August 18, 2011

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disturbed by the punitive decision of the Indonesian Court on August 15, 2011 to jail an innocent Ahmadi Muslim who protected himself during a mob attack, which reveals the impartiality of the judiciary and the legal community.

Deden Sudjana was sentenced to six months imprisonment by the court, for simply protecting the house the mob were attacking. Meanwhile, the 12 men who were responsible for brutally killing three Ahmadi Muslims in an attack in February 2011, were only sentenced to between three and six months imprisonment.

Some 1,500 people attacked the home of an Ahmadiyah community leader in Cikeusik, west Java in February. Sudjana was hit with a machete and almost had his hand severed during the mob attack. Head of security for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) at the time, Sudjana was detained since May for allegedly inciting the attack. In its judgment, the court ruled that he had disobeyed a police order to leave the scene, and had been filmed punching another man. He was thus convicted of articles 212 and 315.1 of the Criminal Code; resisting state officers and maltreatment, respectively.

The decision is senseless and embarrassing, a travesty of justice. The lenient sentences handed out to those convicted of killing three Ahmadis in July raised questions regarding judicial impartiality and upholding of constitutional protections (see AHRC-PRL-034-2011), which have now been spotlighted again. The two verdicts indicate that Indonesia’s criminal justice system is not able to deliver justice independent from religious considerations. Indonesia’s judicial commission must act on this miscarriage of justice and push for reforms that will truly ensure a fair and impartial justice process.

Indonesia today is increasingly seeing extremists push their agenda forward, mostly with the use of violence, resulting in the loss of life and damage to property. The Indonesian government has taken no effective steps to stop or prevent such activities, which will slowly erode the country’s secular values.

Similarly, the Indonesian courts and legal system have shown a complete disregard for the basic rule of law, and have not taken up their mandate of protecting the constitutional rights of Indonesian citizens.

The AHRC urges for a review of both verdicts, and calls upon the Indonesian government and courts to ensure that all religious and other minorities are adequately protected.

Document ID: AHRC-PRL-034-2011
Document Type: Press Release
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/AHRC-PRL-034-2011

INDONESIA: Courts verdict encourages further attacks against religious minorities

News / Press Releases / INDONESIA: Courts verdict encourages…

INDONESIA: Courts verdict encourages further attacks against religious minorities

July 29, 2011

(Hong Kong, July 29, 2011) Three to six months in prison was the shocking sentence given to the perpetrators of the mob killing of three Ahmadiyahs earlier this year. The remaining perpetrators will be released on the reading of the verdict on 23 August this year. Most of them will be released during the coming weeks. This lenient punishment and the conduct of the judges in the trial sends a clear signal to religious fundamentalists that they not need to worry about the law and constitutional protection of minorities.

“The verdict and trial conduct does not meet national or international standards” Wong Kai Shing, Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Commission said. “The lenient punishment will encourage more extremist action against religious minorities” Wong added,” the courts failed to enforce Indonesian law for the protection of citizens.”

On 28 April 2011 the Serang District Court in West Java convicted twelve suspects for maltreatment, joint assault and incitement in the horrendous Cikeusik killing from February this year. A mob set against the discriminated religious minority of Ahmadiyah followers attacked the group in Umbulan village, Cikeusik resulting in five members being injured and three killed. At least one patrol car from Cikeusik sector police and 2 trucks from riot-control force (Dalmas) of Pandeglang dictrict police men were present and watched the violence, doing nothing to prevent it or apprehend the perpetrators. The shocking scenes were published in a video online sparking international outcry.

The Indonesian Ahmadiyah congregation (JAI) commented that the verdict does not fulfil the sense of fairness. According to A. Mubarik Ahmad, the public relation of JAI, this crime must be seen as crimes against humanity, not just a crime against the Ahmadiyah. The Indonesian criminal code never regulated the crimes against Ahmadiyah. Moreover, he stated that the state still cannot find the murderer of the victims, because the trial did not charged the suspect with murder charge, thus there is no examination and trial for the murderer.

In 1980 and 2005, Indonesian Ulama Assembly (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) issued a fatwa against the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia denouncing Ahmadyah followers as an errant sect. In 2008 a joint ministerial decree banned the group for promulgating its religion and other basic religious rights. The decree is widely believed to be responsible for encouraging attacks against Ahmadis. Numerous attacks against Ahmadiyah communities and their members were documented by the Setara Institute and Wahid Institute over the last years.

The AHRC is concerned that the lenient punishment for a mob killing against the minority group will encourage more fundamentalist violence. Institutions have failed in this case to send a strong message against extremism. The AHRC believes that law and constitutional values were not the basis for the judgement in this case.

Document ID: AHRC-PRL-034-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/AHRC-PRL-034-2011

INDONESIA: Ahmadiyah community faces ongoing discrimination

Opinions / Interviews / INDONESIA: Ahmadiyah community faces ongoing discrimination

INDONESIA: Ahmadiyah community faces ongoing discrimination

July 21, 2011

An interview with Zaenuda Ikhwanul Aziz from the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Community (JAI) published by the Asian Human Rights Commission regarding the situation faced by Ahmadis in Indonesia.

Zaenuda Ikhwanul Aziz, is the secretary of the legal committee of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah congregation (Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia — JAI). He is actively involved in the struggle of the Ahmadiyah in the country.

How do you feel about what is happening to the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia?

We feel that we are being discriminated against, especially the Ahmadiyah communities at the localities outside the capital of Jakarta. For example, the government does not give identification cards and marriage certificates to Ahmadiyahs.

At the economic sector many Ahmadiyahs have had to change the location of their businesses. Even in some provinces, the people from the community are intimidated not to buy products from Ahmadiyah shops and businesses and this has resulted in a serious reduction of our income.

In the social sector we also are excluded and intimidated. We are not allowed to be involved in social gatherings.

At the religious sector the Minister of Religion prohibits us from conducting the Hajj, (the pilgrimage to Mekka) and even when we pray, members of the local communities attack our mosques. Sometimes, our villages are also attacked.

Also, in the health sector, many people reject Ahmadiyahs as patients. We therefore feel discriminated against in most, if not all, sectors.

When did you start to feel the discrimination?

The discrimination started when the Indonesian Ulama Assembly (Majelis Ulama Indonesia - MUI) declared Ahmadiyah as an errant sect in 1980. This fatwa brought to light the differences between Ahmadiyahs and the community. The people followed the fatwa believing that Ahmadiyah is errant without seeking any further explanation or consideration.

The main actors involved are the Indonesian government, central and local law enforcement authorities and several Ulama members who influence the people to attack Ahmadiyah communities. This is especially so with those persons who live within Ahmadiyah communities.

In your opinion, what is the reason for the increase of the aggression against Ahmadiyahs in the last few years?

There are several reasons, not the least of which is that the government is indecisive about law enforcement. If the joint ministerial decree against JAI still prevailed then the government could not allow the local regulations in the provinces to declare Ahmadiyah as an errant sect. Unfortunately, the government did nothing to prevent this from happening.

The aggressors see Ahmadiyah as a threat because the numbers of Ahmadiyah communities is increasing and they are scared that they will lose their followers.

Also, the content of the joint ministerial decree has been misinterpreted. There are local regulations which use the joint resolution decree to declare Ahmadiyah as errant whereas there is no such statement in the decree itself. The JAI think this happened because the government is trying to distance itself from the joint of resolution decree.

Is the state doing anything to protect the Ahmadiyahs?

We feel the state protection is still minimal. There is still turmoil because there is no law enforcement. It is seldom that perpetrators of violence against Ahmadiyahs are arrested and they are never prosecuted in the courts.

What do you feel about the work of the police?

In general, the work of the police is still far from professional. However, we must acknowledge that in some areas, there are some good police officers working in relation to Ahmadiyahs.

What about the work of the courts?

Judges are deficient at searching for the truth. Their efforts are deficient when examining at a trial, investigating the witness and proof, such as happened at Cisalada trial. Even the verdict against the Ahmadiyah victim was heavier than that of the perpetrators.

What is the Ahmadiyah community doing in their own defence?

Our representatives visit government officials, legal enforcement authorities, and the community in general. Relating to the legal dealings, we entrust this to our legal counsel.

The result of our visits are promising in that there are several communities and authorities who opened up and accepted us such as in Bandung, Central Java, and Wonosobo. But there have also been rejections such as in Cianjur, Bogor.

What is your ultimate goal in this struggle?

All we ask for is the right to live like other citizens and that these rights are fulfilled by the government

————————
The views shared in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC, and the AHRC takes no responsibility for them.

URL: www.humanrights.asia/opinions/interviews/AHRC-ETC-033-2011

INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government action

NEWS

INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government action

April 7, 2011

Dear friends,

We wish to share with you the following statement from Amnesty International, KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute.

Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FST-025-2011
April 7, 2011

A Statement from Amnesty International, KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government action

The Indonesian government must do more to stop the rising number of incidents of violence, intimidation, harassment and discrimination against religious minorities, said a group of Indonesian and international human rights organizations today.

Amnesty International, along with KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute voiced their concern about the growing environment of discrimination and harassment against religious minorities, in particular the Ahmadiyya community.

KontraS has documented at least 62 incidents between January and March 2011 only against the Ahmadiyya community. According to data collected by HRWG, the pace of such attacks has increased sharply in 2011 compared with the previous two years. There are also concerns about continuing attacks against Christians.

A particularly alarming development was the involvement of the Indonesian military and police in intimidation and forced conversion of members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyya community. KontraS has documented at least 20 cases in March and early April 2011 where military and police have been involved in cases of intimidation, harassment and forced conversion.

Amnesty International shared the concerns raised by Indonesian human rights groups with the senior leadership of the Indonesian National Police on 5 April.

Amnesty International also met some of Indonesia’s largest mass religious organizations, including Muhamadiyyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), an umbrella group for Protestant Churches.

Alarmed by the deteriorating situation, and in light of the positive meetings with police officials and religious leaders, the human rights groups issued the following recommendations:

— The central government must fulfill its obligation to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, benefit from the human rights enshrined in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005 as provided by Law No. 12/2005;

— The central government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, should immediately assert its exclusive authority to regulate religious affairs under the 2004 Law on Regional Autonomy and ensure that any regulations issued at the provincial as well as at the district level are in compliance with human rights protections as provided in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and Indonesia’s obligations under international law, in particular the ICCPR;

— The Joint Ministerial Decree of 2008, which placed significant restrictions on the activities of the Ahmadiyya religious community, has served to foster a climate conducive to violence and vigilanteism, and should be immediately repealed;

— The Indonesian police should restate publicly its commitment to protecting the rights of all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs and put in place a proactive strategy for preventing and addressing incidents of religiously based violence. The groups welcomed the efforts to address the incidents in Cikeusik and Temanggung and look to the government and police to ensure that the trials proceed without intimidation of the victims, witnesses and their lawyers. The police should also ensure they register and investigate all cases of religious-based violence, regardless of the religious background of the victim.

— Central and local government officials should emphasize the basic protections for religious belief, expression, and association included in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and international law and refrain from making comments stigmatizing religious minorities, which has created a climate fostering discrimination and violence.

Jakarta, 6 April 2011

Document ID: AHRC-FST-025-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/forwarded-news/AHRC-FST-025-2011

INDONESIA: Rule by violence

NEWS

INDONESIA: Rule by violence

March 21, 2011

Bombing of NGO office following religious standoff while US Congress urges President to revoke decrees

Archive photo, Ahmadiyya homes in Indonesia set on fire, source: Ahmadiyya Times

Following a series of violent incidents against religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyah community, two regional administrations in Indonesia had issued local decrees banning the Ahmadiyah followers. On February 6, in Cikeusik Banten for example three Ahmadiyah followers were killed and several injured after an angry mob attacked them. The few police officers present at the incident did little to stop the violence. An internal investigation by the police only named a few lower ranking officers as suspects of negligence but did not address the structural police involvement in such incidents of fundamentalist violence. Violence and protests against Ahmadiyah followers also took place in other provinces. The bombing of a Jakarta based NGO office advocating religious freedom completes the picture of Indonesian authorities that are not taking the side of the law and who appear unable to withstand the pressure from extremists.

On March 15, 2011, 27 members of the US Congress signed a letter to President Yudhoyono calling for the 2008 decree against Ahmadiya religions promulgation to be revoked as well as the regional decrees which banned the Ahmadiyah followers from exercising their religion. The letter is available here. Article 18 of the ICCPR protects the right of everyone to choose and exercise their religion and requires every government to protect this fundamental freedom as a human right. However, the government responded to the call to revoke the decrees by declaring that it reserves the right to treat the Ahmadiyah religious sect in any manner it likes, the Jakarta Post reported. While the Indonesian government acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2006 it now openly ignores its earlier commitments to human rights.

On Tuesday March 15, 2011 a letter mail was sent to the co-founder of the Liberal Islamic Network (JIL), Ulil Abshar Abdalla in East Jakarta. The radio stations housed in the same building witnessed the blast. The unusual events in building show the inability of police to deal with the situation:

By 10 am on Tuesday March 15, a dark skinned 170cm tall man wearing a parachute jacket and a hat delivered a package wrapped in brown paper to the reception desk of the building used by the JIL (Jaringan Islam Liberal) and the pro democratic radio station KBR68H radio station and other groups.

At 11.30 am 4 or 5 people arrived in a car. Two of them came into the building and identified themselves as members of a travel agency and talked to KBR68H radio about running promotions for the pilgrimage trips to Mecca in the radio channel. After their unusual visit was over the men went on to visit JIL in the same building with the same request, falsely alleging to have been recommended by KBR68H to talk to JIL. This appeared as an attempt to gain trust.

At 2.30pm 3 persons who identified themselves as coming from the National Police Headquarter arrived and alleged to want to talk about the recent situation of religious violence and events about the Ahmadiyah followers. By that time the staff of JIL had become suspicious about the package they received since it contained a book titled “They Deserved to Be Killed: Because of Their Sins to Islam and Muslims” and appeared to be glued together.

Since the suspicion of a bomb in the book arouse, it was of unusual coincidence that three members of police were already around when the JIL were thus able to hand over the book to them. The local police was also called and a group of around ten officers arrived betweem 3 pm – 3.30 pm. It was soon confirmed that wires in the object made it likely to be a bomb. The crowd of police then decided to try traditional methods to neutralise it, by pouring water in it after bringing the bomb into the backyard of the building. Following this the mobile phone battery that had supplied the bomb system with electricity was taken off by the police and this action triggered the bomb. The resulting explosion injured one of the policemen, none of whom were bomb disposal specialists.

A second letter bomb with the same book title was sent to Comr. Gen. Gories Mere, a former key officer of the National Police’s elite counterterrorism unit, Densus 88.

In 2005 the KBR68H radio station had become a target of an attack from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) after the radio had promoted religious tolerance.

A day earlier on March 14, four laptops and one computer were stolen from the office of the National Alliance for Unity in Diversity (Aliansi Nasional Bhinneka Tunggal Ika ANBTI). The group supported and promoted the Indonesian constitutional value of a pluralistic society in Indonesia.

It is not only the police and local administrations that have supported activities against Ahmadiyah followers. According to the Human Rights Working Group the Indonesian military has also been involved in activities against the religious minority. Members of the military have occupied mosques and urged Ahmadiyah members to discard their beliefs. With this activity the military has gone far beyond its mandate and has thus violated laws.

The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) is believed to be behind recent attacks against the Ahmadiyah community. Habib Rizieq Shihab, head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) explained that FPI would only settle for peace if the President would ban the Ahmadiyah in Indonesia. He threatened that violence against Ahmadyah followers would continue unless the Islamic sect would be legally banned.

The repeated and open threats of violence against religious minorities are a crime in the Indonesian Penal Code. The police often do not react appropriately to such incitements of violence and authorities instead allow such incidents, like the recent killings and bans, to take place. In some instances the argument to maintain public security and order is turned around so that the responsibility for the violence is not that of the instigators of the violence but rather at the victims who are accused of causing instability.

The AHRC urges the President, the Indonesian government and the National Police to protect the constitutional values, human rights and applicable international law by fully investigating all threats against any religious groups in Indonesia and to give full support including protection measures to threatened communities. Allegations against members of the police and military to support religious extremists or their views must be investigated. Any officer supporting such views should face disciplinary and criminal measures including suspension and criminal charges.

Document ID: AHRC-STM-043-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-043-2011

Govt silence sounds death knell for Faisalabad Ahmedis

---Daily Dawn, Pakistan

FROM THE PAPER > FRONT PAGE

Govt silence sounds death knell for Faisalabad Ahmedis
  By Nasir Jamal
  Saturday, 17 Apr, 2010

LAHORE, April 16: It is no longer just a doorbell for Mohammad Iqbal and his family; instead it has a ring of alarm about it. As a boy goes to answer the call the other inhabitants form a line of defence behind him should the visitor turn out to be an unwelcome one. Usually the door stays shut until the visitor’s identity is established and his intent known.

It’s been like this since March 8 when four men kidnapped Iqbal’s teenage son Bilal and nephew Shiraz from Iqbal’s home in Madina Town, a middle class locality in Faisalabad, after robbing the household. The kidnappers told the boys later that their family had been targeted because of their Ahmedi faith.

The boys returned home after six days once Iqbal and his elder brother paid Rs2.5 million against an original ransom demand of Rs10 million. The kidnappers have since been arrested, but the life of Iqbal’s family stands totally transformed. The structure of the house has been altered to make it more secure; as this writer sat with the family members in their living room last Thursday, on the table in front lay a revolver and a handgun.

There are many Ahmedi families in Faisalabad who share Iqbal’s insecurities. They have been terrorised by multiple robberies and kidnappings in recent months. The triple murder of the city’s known businessman Ashraf Pervaiz, his brother Masood Javed and nephew Asif Masood on April 1 intensified this terror. The murders took place in a crowded area: yet no eyewitness has come forward so far.

Though there is no evidence, the murdered victims’ family suspects it to be the work of a militant group known for its involvement in the Kashmir ‘jehad’. “Our family is respected and we have no dispute with anyone. The murderers were trained in the use of arms and were well informed about the movement of their target,” a relative of the murdered businessmen, who does not give his name, tells Dawn. Dr Rashid Karim is a homoeopath who was kidnapped last May, taken to the tribal areas, and released after more than five months on payment of Rs10 million. He says his kidnappers had tried to grill him about Ashraf Pervaiz.

The community’s suspicion about the involvement of a militant outfit and its affiliates in the recent robberies, murders and kidnappings is strengthened by the arrest of the four abductors of Iqbal’s son and nephew.

“The triple murder happened only three days after the police apprehended the accused involved in the incident at Iqbal’s home,” DSP Abid Hussain says. “All of them have said they belong to the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa,” he says.

The accused have confessed that they had obtained a decree from a cleric, Maulvi Usman, allowing robbing and killing Ahmedis. Abid says such people distribute a portion of the looted money.

Yet the Ahmedi community in Faisalabad does not just fear the militant group. “It could be a cleric or a known religious group fomenting hatred against our people for no reason or a militant outfit kidnapping or murdering our people for money. It could also be a local resident or some one from Pakhtunkhwa or Karachi or anywhere else,” says a district-level leader of the Ahmedi community, who did not want to give his name.

“They use mosques and universities to spread malicious propaganda against us. We are scared. Some have already moved out of the city.”

Nonetheless, in certain cases Ahmedis have been targeted for financial considerations. Consider a four-page pamphlet urging Muslims to sever all economic ties with Ahmedis. The pamphlet lists 33 businesses – ranging from a photocopier to a drugs store to a jeweller – being run by Ahmedis. The businesses owned by Ashraf Pervaiz’s family are also mentioned in it.

A large number of Ahmedis in Fasialabad say they have received threatening letters, ‘advising’ them to renounce their faith, before their homes are raided or relatives abducted. “I received a letter about four months before the kidnapping,” says Iqbal. His brother-in-law also got a letter.

The victims say the robbers and the kidnappers have the details about the daily routine of their targets and about their businesses. Probably this is why police officials have advised Ahmedis to change their daily routine. Most of them heeded the advice seriously. But that too didn’t help some, as the April 1 murders show.

The community leaders link the increasing attacks and crimes to official apathy and police inaction. “All this started in 2008 when some people falsely accused 23 Ahmedi students of the Punjab Medical College (PMC) of blasphemy. Under the pressure of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), the government and the college administration expelled the accused students. An emboldened SSP used the incident to foment hatred against Ahmedis in the city. Had the government not given in to the SSP the situation today would not have been as bad as it is,” an anonymous community leader argues. He says the PMC incident was followed by the murder of an Ahmedi trader. “A spate of robberies and kidnappings ensued,” he adds.

A major complaint is that none of the cases involving Ahmedis as victims is investigated properly. “The laws and police are the handmaiden of our persecutors,” says an Ahmedi. “Politicians are afraid. A family loses three members and there is not a single word from the chief minister or any other official. Where is Shahbaz Sharif, the self-proclaimed torch-bearer of justice? We deserve to be treated like other citizens but neither the police nor the judiciary is ready to provide us justice.”

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved
URL : www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-cont...ll-for-faisalabad-ahmedis-7400

Punjab Muslim fundamentalists against the Ahmadis, three traders killed

---Asia News, Italy
» 04/08/2010 10:26
PAKISTAN
Punjab Muslim fundamentalists against the Ahmadis, three traders killed
by Fareed Khan
Muslim leaders denounce sect a “targeted execution”, in the silence of government officials and police. Recently, the three men had been seized “because of their faith” and released after paying a large sum of money. 108 ahmadi faithful killed since 1984.
 

Islamabad (AsiaNews) — The persecution of the Ahmadi Muslims continues in Pakistan, considered heretical because they do not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet. On April last three traders were killed in Faisalabad - the third largest city of Punjab. The murder was reported by the leaders of the Ahmadiyya community, who speak of a “targeted execution” by an armed commando who immediately fled the scene.

The elderly man belongs to the Ahmadiyya, a Muslim religious movement condemned as heretical in 1974. With perhaps as many as 3 million followers, especially in Punjab, the Ahmadi community has suffered from harassment and persecution.

Ashraf Pervez, 60, Masood Javed, 57, and Asif Masood, 24, were returning home after the closure of the shops. Suddenly, attackers riddled them with bullets. The three died on their way to hospital. Pervez and Javed were brothers, while Masood was the son of the latter. Two weeks before their death, reports the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the victims had complained of threats to police. The officers had recommended them to “restrict their movement and recruit bodyguards” to protect their safety.

According to leaders of the Ahmadiyya community, most recently the men had been kidnapped and released after paying a high ransom. Criminals have reported that their faith was the cause of the abduction. “It is reasonable to assume that the criminals – reads a statement – or at least their accomplices are known to the authorities, because the groups against the Ahmadis do not bother to hide their hatred.”

Faisalabad has long been the scene of targeted attacks against the Ahmadiyya community. In recent years, nine people were killed without the police or government authorities – who know the perpetrators – intervening. The group’s leaders points the finger at the movement of Khatme Nabuwwat, Islamic followers according to whom the prophecy reaches its full completion with Mohammed, in charge of persecution against Muslims considered “heretics”.

Punjab Law experts can foment violence against the Ahmadis with impunity, claiming that they “be killed” (Wajib ul Qatl). The leaders of the movement denounce the immobility of the authorities, in addition to not punishing the perpetrators of the killings, not even taking a stand against verbal violence.

Since the enactment of the Anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance in 1984 which allows for persecution of the alleged “heretics” 108 people were killed because of their faith. In a few cases the killers were arrested and the few times have appeared before the judges, they were acquitted or freed after a short prison sentence. So far this year, five Ahmadis have been killed.

URL: www.asianews.it/news-en/Punjab-Muslim-fu...-traders-killed-18081.html

Slain Ahmadis had sought police protection

--Dawn.com, Pakistan

The Newspaper > National

Slain Ahmadis had sought police protection
Saturday, 03 Apr, 2010

FAISALABAD: Three people of an Ahmadi family gunned down near Abdullahpur in People’s Colony police precincts on Thursday night were being threatened by unidentified people because of their religious activities, it’s learnt on Friday.

Sources said that victims Asif, Arshad and Masood contacted People’s Colony police in view of the threats a couple of weeks ago and the police advised them to limit their movement and hire guards for their security.

A police official said police were informed that some unknown people, who kidnapped Dr Arshad Karim of Mustafabad, repeatedly questioned him about the movement of Asif and Arshad. He said police talked to Arshad and Asif and came to know that they feared their kidnapping.

Dr Karim was freed one month after his abduction when his family paid Rs3 million ransom. He was kidnapped from the surroundings of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education on Jail Road.

Madina Town Police Officer Sadiq Dogar said a case had been registered against five unidentified persons under sections 148, 149 and 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act was being added to the FIR. He said raids were being conducted to arrest the suspects.

On March 9, some robbers kidnapped two boys of an Ahmadi family in Madina Town’s Y-Block and took away cash and gold ornaments from the house. They freed the boys, Bilal and Sheraz, after extorting Rs2.5 million from their family.

A police official said Lashkar-i-Taiba men could be behind the kidnappings. — Staff Correspondent

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved
URL : www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-...ht-police-protection-340