Oct. 28
PAKISTAN:
Pakistani Boy Facing Death Penalty After Muslim Accused Him of Burning Quran
Released from Prison
A 9-year-old Christian boy facing the death penalty after being accused of
burning the Quran has been released from prison thanks to the efforts of
politicians and humanitarian groups.
According to the London-based charity British Pakistani Christian Association,
the little boy, Izhan, was at school in the town of Quetta when he was accused
of burning a copy of Islam's holy book by a local Muslim.
The next day, he and his mother, Shakil, who works as a nurse at a nearby
hospital, were arrested without the police conducting an investigation into the
blasphemy allegations - a crime carrying the death penalty.
"News of the arrests created huge community tension, however prompt police
action prevented threats to the Christian community and the formation of a mob
from becoming a full scale attack on an innocent Christian community," reads
the BPCA report.
Pakistani human rights activists quickly went to try and secure the release of
the child and his mother, and officers from BPCA, along with other human rights
advocates, spent the four days after the arrest calling for their freedom.
The 2 Christians were released last week, and police confirmed that no evidence
of any alleged Quran desecration was found.
Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws often target Christians, which make up just
1.6% of the country's population. According to BBC News, "scores" of Christians
have been found guilty of desecrating the Koran or of blasphemy since 1990.
Earlier this year, a young Christian boy in Pakistan was charged with blasphemy
and forced to run for his life after Muslim leaders offered a $10,000 reward
for his body because he was falsely accused of viewing anti-Muslim material on
his phone.
Last month, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly posting an image of
the Kabba in Mecca on his Facebook page. The crime should have received a
maximum of a 10 year sentence - however, in a recent ruling, a judge increased
the charge, meaning the teen could face death by hanging. The teen's family
have been forced to flee their home in Bhai Pheru for fear of violence as their
son awaits trial in prison.
Pakistan, the world's 2nd largest Muslim country, is ranked #6 on the Open
Doors 2016 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians, and has
received the maximum score in the violence category.
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association,
condemned Pakistan's blasphemy laws, saying "they serve no purpose but to cause
pain and anguish to innocent victims."
"They are used as tools for discrimination and to settle personal vendettas,"
he said. "International bodies like the UN turn a blind eye to the impact of
such laws to the detriment of global society. Their failure to respond is
simply creating schism and animosity and the rise of Islamophobia, despite the
fact most liberal Muslims despise the laws themselves."
He added, "Pakistan's refusal to reform or abrogate these laws should be
recognized as a contravention of human rights especially freedom of religion,
conscience and free speech. Action must be taken now before Pakistan a nuclear
nation reaches a point of no return, especially considering the whipping up of
hatred towards minorities that Imams in Pakistan use the laws to generate."
(source: The Gospel Herald)
PHILIPPINES:
'5 executions a day' if death penalty returns, Duterte quips----House speaker
vows bill to revive death penalty out before Christmas
The Philippines might carry out 5 executions of convicted criminals a day to
ease prison congestion once the death penalty is reimposed in the country,
President Rodrigo Duterte candidly remarked during a meeting with the Filipino
community in Tokyo.
"Some have opposed it even if our jails are overcrowded with some reaching
1,000. But that's not a problem, we will execute 5 every day," the president
said while on a visit to Tokyo a few days ago.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, for his part, has assured the House bill
seeking to reinstate death penalty will be passed before Congress goes on a
Christmas break.
"I don't know with the Senate, I don't control it, but as far as the House is
concerned, we will approve it before the Christmas break," Alvarez said in a
media interview in Tokyo on the sidelines of the President's visit.
Alvarez said it was up to the executive branch to propose about the form of
capital punishment. "If they want to hang them, shoot them by firing squad,
it's up to them. The criminals would be dead either way."
He said death penalty was not an effective deterrent to crimes before because
the previous governments did not carry out more executions. "Before they speak,
they should look at the record first. How many were killed? It had not been a
deterrent because they kept on objecting, so it was not implemented."
The president, who has waged a brutal war on illegal drugs and crimes, has
openly called for the revival of death penalty to punish criminals assuming
that God does not exist, lamenting the Filipinos's disregard and lack of fear
of the law.
Duterte, in his impromptu speech before the Filipino workers, hit back at
critics of death penalty, saying it was not effective in the past because it
was not strictly enforced.
He said if he were president then, he would have implemented capital punishment
so the country would have been spared from an enormous drug problem.
(source: Manila Bulletin)
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