Distr. GENERAL E/CN.4/Sub.2/1998/NGO/3 14 July 1998 Original: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection
of Minorities
Fiftieth session
Item 8 of the provisional agenda

PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AND THE PROTECTION OF MINORITIES

Written statement submitted by the Association for World Education,
a non-governmental organization on the Roster

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.

[7 July 1998]

Blasphemy legislation in Pakistan's Penal Code

1. The Association for World Education submits the present written statement in memory of a prominent human rights defender, the late John Joseph, Bishop of Faisalabad, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission established by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan, who killed himself on 6 May 1998 to protest the continued application of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

2. Bishop John Joseph's suicide was related to the “blasphemy” case of Ayub Masih, who had been incarcerated in solitary confinement since 14 October 1996 and sentenced to death on 27 April 1998 by Sessions Court Judge Rana Abdul Ghaffar. The distinguished lawyer Ms. Asma Jahangir, who had secured the release of Salamat and Rehmet Masih in 1995 on a similar charge of blasphemy, is also involved in the defence of Ayub Masih. The appeal against the death sentence is still pending in the High Court.

3. A few hours before his tragic death, Bishop Joseph publicly declared that the charges were false and were merely concocted to force 15 Christian families to drop a local land dispute with Muslim villagers. In his last circular letter, published on 7 May in the Lahore edition of the newspaper Dawn, he strongly urged Church leaders, parliamentarians, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and all segments of society in Pakistan to support the campaign for the repeal of the iniquitous blasphemy laws. This legislation violates the international instruments that were signed and ratified by Pakistan.

Background to the introduction of the blasphemy legislation

4. During the presidency of General Zia ul-Haq (1977-1988) a Federal Shariat, or legal Court (FSC), was instituted, which was granted “jurisdiction over convictions or acquittals from district courts in cases involving ... Islamic criminal laws; exclusive jurisdiction to hear [petitions] ... challenging 'any law or provision of law' as repugnant to the Holy Koran; exclusive jurisdiction to examine 'any law or provision of law' for repugnancy to the Holy Koran ....” ¹ Although non-Muslims may not appear before the Shariat Court, they are subject to its rulings.

5. President Zia ul-Haq introduced the Hudood (Punishment) Ordinances in 1984, which “define crimes against Islam” and “enforce punishment for those who commit such crimes”. In hudood cases, the testimony of a non-Muslim is considered to be worth half that of a Muslim. Section 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code singles out, pejoratively, the “non-Muslim” minority group Ahamadiyya - considered by Sunni theologians as heretics.

The Sub-Commission's 1985 reaction to Ordinance XX (1984)

6. Ordinance XX was incorporated into the 1985 Constitution. That year, the Sub-Commission adopted resolution 1985/21 in which the Sub-Commission:

“1. Expresses its grave concern at the promulgation by Pakistan of Ordinance XX of 28 April 1984 which, prima facie, violates the right to liberty and security of the person, the right to freedom of thought, expression, conscience and religion, the right of religious minorities to profess and practise their own religion, and the right to an effective legal remedy;

“2. Further expresses its grave concern that persons charged with and arrested for violations of Ordinance XX have been reportedly subjected to various punishments and confiscations of personal property, and that the affected groups as a whole have been subjected to discrimination in employment and education and to the defacement of their religious property;

“3. Requests the Commission on Human Rights to call on the Government of Pakistan to repeal Ordinance XX and to restore the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons in its jurisdiction.”

7. In 1986, the Government of Pakistan used the power granted it by Ordinance XX to insert section 295-C into the Pakistan Legal Code, making the death sentence mandatory for anyone convicted of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. From 1986 to 1993, over 200 Ahmadis were charged with “blasphemy” but none were convicted. Soon this law, originally directed at the Ahmadis, was being used primarily against Christians and also against Muslims, several of whom have been convicted.

8. In 1993 a further bill, generally supported by anti-Shi'a groups as a means of persecuting Shi'as, was introduced to extend the law to the defiling of the Prophet's family and companions.

9. An editorial in the Pakistani newspaper The Frontier Post stated: “Now, not only has theocracy been presented as a model for law and procedure, but discrimination on the basis of religion has become a part of the law.” (Peter Jacob Dildar, “Minorities under the law”, 18 June 1994).

10. On 10 February 1995, the United Nations special procedures system was used to send an urgent appeal to the Government of Pakistan regarding the cases of a 13-year-old illiterate boy, Salamat Masih - accused of having written blasphemous words on a mosque wall - and his uncle Rehmet Masih. A reply was received within four days and the international outcry in this case resulted in their release from prison; they fled to Europe.

11. Over a dozen Christians have been jailed under the blasphemy laws, four of whom were reported killed in detention. Ayub Masih is the fourth Christian to be condemned to death; the other three were acquitted on appeal and fled Pakistan. This is the background for Bishop John Joseph's tragic “sacrificial death”.

A death sentence for “blasphemy” is illegitimate

12. The Association for World Education questions the legitimacy of Pakistan's blasphemy laws under the international instruments and the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and fundamental human rights standards.

13. In addition to questioning the legitimacy of such blasphemy laws, our Association wishes to raise questions concerning the conditions in which trials for blasphemy are conducted: the right to a fair and speedy trial; the independence of the judiciary; the safety of defence lawyers; and the holding of the trial in a serene atmosphere, isolated from political, social and religious pressures. We ask the Sub-Commission to undertake inquiries as to whether Pakistan's courts are meeting these international human rights standards in all trials related to charges of blasphemy.

14. In particular, we wish to stress five points in regard to blasphemy charges under the section 295 of Pakistan's Penal Code:

(a) Blasphemy, as a civil crime under section 295-B and 295-C, is tried in civil courts where only Muslim judges may hear cases;

(b) The death penalty is a punishment for blasphemy under section 295-C;

(c) Blasphemy accusations may be applied to non-Muslims, whose testimony is given less weight in court than Muslims;

(d) Blasphemy charges may be used to mask other, more material or political, motivations;

(e) Blasphemy charges are being increasingly used as a way of limiting discussion and debate - what has been called since 1989 the “Rushdie syndrome”.

15. In a statement on 21 August 1992 to the forty-fourth session of the Sub-Commission, a member of the Sub-Commission, Mrs. Clair Palley, declared:

“This is not a century - and certainly the twenty-first century is not one - in which the death penalty should exist for heresy. I hope the Sub-Commission will, as a body, make it clear that both fatwas and the death penalty for heresy are themselves gross violations of human rights.” (Verbatim transcription. See also E/CN.4/Sub.2/1992/SR.27, paras. 70-71).

A Sub-Commission resolution on “blasphemy” charges is a necessity

16. In the same spirit, the Association for World Education calls on the fiftieth session of the Sub-Commission to adopt a resolution along the lines that: “this is not a century, nor is the twenty-first century one, in which the death penalty should exist for blasphemy”.

17. The use of an accusation of “blasphemy” - an ill-defined term which can be expanded to mean anything that any accuser dislikes - merits serious attention. Some accusations of “blasphemy” can be ill-disguised death threats - as was the case in 1994 regarding the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Sudan, Mr. Gáspár Biró - and when they are not, they can be considered as sufficiently dangerous to lead to kowtowing, and even censorship at the United Nations.

18. The Association for World Education has provided essential facts about the “UN Blasphemy Affair” of 18 April 1997 in a Sub-Commission statement (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/NGO/3), in several oral statements made to last year's Sub-Commission and the fifty-fourth session of the Commission, and more fully in two out of three articles recently published.

19. Such rigid doctrinal accusations of “blasphemy” - charges that are constantly revived to the detriment of basic human rights in Pakistan and elsewhere - merit unreserved condemnation by the United Nations now.

Notes

1/ Charles H. Kennedy, “Repugnancy to Islam - Who Decides? Islam and Legal Reform in Pakistan”, in International and Comparative Law, vol. 41, Part 4, October 1992, p. 772.

2/ René Wadlow and David Littman, “Dangerous Censorship of a U.N. Special Rapporteur”, Justice, No. 14, September 1997, pp. 10-17; “Blasphemy at the United Nations?”, Middle East Quarterly, December 1997, pp. 85-86; “UN Special Rapporteur Censured on 'Islamist and Arab Antisemitism'”, Midstream, February-March 1998, pp. 8-13.

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© Copyright 1996-2000 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva, Switzerland

By Susan Taylor Martin, Times Senior Correspondent
In Print: Sunday, July 24, 2011

[Associated Press] After meeting with Asia Bibi, Salmaan Taseer, right, reportedly told his wife to get ready to be a widow. He was later killed.

LAHORE, Pakistan — On that oppressive June day, while picking berries with two young Muslim women, a Christian named Asia Bibi offered to go fetch some water.

"I will not take water from the hands of a Christian,'' one of the woman told her.

Bibi, a poor mother of five, would later acknowledge that some "hot words'' ensued. But she denied saying what she allegedly said next: The prophet Mohammed was a thief. As he lay dying, insects crawled from his mouth and ears. The Koran is not a holy book but one made by man.

Five days later, on June 19, 2009, Bibi was arrested and taken to prison. She is still there today, a Christian sentenced to death for committing blasphemy against the religion of Islam.

• • •

Of Pakistan's 187 million people, less than 3 percent are Christian. Most are descended from natives of the Indian subcontinent who converted to Christianity during the Raj, the century-long period of British rule.

In 1947, with Muslims clamoring for a homeland of their own, the subcontinent was partitioned into the new nations of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Pakistan has been an unlikely ally with the United States in the fight against Islamic extremism. And for much of its recent history, it has been a place where Christians have known persecution, discrimination and fear.

"My parents always said, 'When it comes to religion, stay mum and don't voice an opinion,' '' says Elishba Abel, a 23-year-old college student and daughter of Christian missionaries. "I don't want to get thrown in prison.''

Older people remember a time in the early days of nationhood when Christians, some born to British fathers, enjoyed a loftier status in Pakistan. They had their own clubs and worshiped in thousands of churches, including Lahore's Anglican cathedral with a soaring bell tower dedicated to Queen Victoria.

"Christians were fairly superior to Muslims,'' says Dr. Christy Munir, 70, a chemistry professor at Forman Christian College in Lahore. "Then the Muslims started putting them down.''

Pakistan's constitution bans Christians from serving as president or prime minister, and severely limits the number of seats they can hold in Parliament. But it was one man — Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq — who did the most to marginalize Christians and other minorities.

Son of an imam and a fundamentalist himself, Zia imposed Islamic sharia law and greatly accelerated the "Islamization'' of Pakistani life while running the country from 1977 to his death in 1988. Many Christians found themselves on the ragged fringes of society, sweeping streets or fetching tea for their rich Muslim employers.

"Zia created a hell of a problem,'' says Victor Azariah, executive director of the National Council of Churches of Pakistan.

Pressure at work

When Babar Rana Iqbal went to work for Proctor and Gamble in Lahore in the early '90s, no one knew he was Christian because he had a Muslim-sounding name. Nor did he reveal that fact until a colleague was killed in a car crash and Muslim co-workers lined up to say prayers before the coffin. Iqbal stood apart.

"The next day, my boss said, 'Why didn't you join in funeral prayers?' I told him, 'because I am Christian, so I prayed in my own way.' After that day, treatment was different.''

Iqbal, 39, says he was subject to blistering criticism and tougher production goals than his colleagues, with the boss finally telling him: "You have to accept Islam or leave.'' He quit, enrolled in theological school and became a chaplain at Forman Christian College (whose president, Peter Armacost, is a former president of St. Petersburg's Eckerd College.)

"I don't think Islam is bad, just the way it is interpreted,'' Iqbal says. Still, his experience at Proctor and Gamble left him wary: Muslims "can be lovely friends, but you can't trust them.''

Hate crimes against Christians increased after the 9/11 attacks, when Pakistan reluctantly joined the war on terror under intense pressure from the Bush administration.

Three weeks after American jets began bombing Afghanistan, Islamic militants killed 15 Christians at a church in Lahore, Pakistan's cultural and intellectual center. In 2002, an American woman and her daughter were among the five worshipers who died in a grenade attack on a church in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

One of the many injured was Munir. He spent three months in the hospital and had seven surgeries. He still cannot use his right arm.

Many Christians jailed

A decade after 9/11, the fear of terrorist attacks against Christians has somewhat eased. But an insidious threat remains — Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws.

The laws, the strictest of any such ones in a predominantly Muslim country, ban blasphemy against all recognized religions. In practice, they apply only to blasphemy against Islam.

"As Pakistanis, whatever laws there are we are supposed to honor, but the problem in that law is there is no justice,'' says Azariah. "Muslims are so touchy that even if you say something for the sake of inquiry about religion, then they will consider that blasphemy and attack that person and all of the Christian community. This law is so widely misused.''

No Christians have been executed for alleged blasphemy — the maximum penalty is death — but thousands have been imprisoned. Azariah estimates there are more than 150 Christians in jail, among them Asia Bibi.

Bibi lived in a village outside Lahore where her husband worked in a brick kiln and she earned a few rupees a day picking falsas, a blueberry-like fruit, in fields owned by a Muslim man.

After Bibi allegedly made her anti-Islam remarks, the two Muslim women, who were sisters, went to the owner's son and accused her of blasphemy, court records show. At a subsequent gathering that included village elders and religious scholars, Bibi purportedly confessed and begged for pardon. A formal investigation — conducted by a Muslim government employee — concluded that the sisters told the truth. Bibi was arrested.

In November, a sharia judge found Bibi guilty and sentenced her to death.

Cheers for murderer

The verdict enraged not only Christians, but also some moderate Muslims. The governor of Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, visited Bibi in jail and denounced the blasphemy statutes as "black laws'' that should be abolished.

Shortly before Christmas, Peter Armacost saw Taseer at a social function and praised him for standing on principle.

"He acknowledged he felt he had to, but he knew the political risk involved,'' Armacost says. "I know he told his wife, 'Be prepared to be a widow.' "

Two weeks later, Taseer was shot 26 times by one of his own security guards, who reportedly was angered by the governor's vocal opposition to the blasphemy laws. As the guard, Mali Qadri, was led into court, several young Muslim lawyers cheered him and showered him with rose petals. Qadri is now the subject of a glowing book.

Bibi continues to sit in solitary confinement. Every two weeks, her husband, Ashiq Masih, brings her ice, tea, some vegetables. She is allowed to cook her own meals for fear she might be poisoned by other inmates or even the jailers.

Masih can no longer work because of death threats. He and his children, including a handicapped 13-year-old daughter who cannot speak, move from place to place as they await the outcome of Bibi's appeal to Pakistan's highest court. Even if she is freed, the family would remain in too much danger to stay in Pakistan, Azariah says.

Though Bibi's death sentence is likely to be overturned, she could languish in prison for years.

"Courts are very much afraid to try these cases because the religious leaders go into court and pressure the judges,'' Azariah says. "The judges are also afraid for their lives.''

With reason. Azariah recalls another case in which a Christian was sentenced to death. A judge acquitted him — and was shot to death in his chambers a few days later.

Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at susan@sptimes

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Christian Minorities Minister calls on Pakistani President to hold talks over Asia Noreen Case and Blasphemy Laws.

By Jawad Mazhar
Special Correspondent for ANS, reporting from Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- A top Christian leader in Pakistan has visited with that country's President, Asif Ali Zardari, holding talks about the adversity of Asia Noreen, her family and the abolition of controversial Blasphemy Laws of this pre-dominantly Muslim country.

In an exclusive interview with ANS after the negotiations with the President of Pakistan, Shahbaz Bhatti, who is Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs and head of the All Pakistan Minorities Aliance (APMA), said that on Nov.25 he and the President "mulled over" the critical situation Asia Noreen was facing.

The two men also countered misconceptions being disseminated by various news media outlets that under the pressure of western countries she was being pardoned and released by President Zardari, thus bypassing the judicial process.

Through advocate and Christian parliamentarian Tahir Naveed Chaudhary of APMA, ANS has learned that as someone is convicted by a lower court, such as the Sessions Court of Pakistan, they then can appeal to High Court of Pakistan against the decision and then to the apex court, namely Supreme Court of Pakistan. In a case where the apex court also maintains the conviction, then a petition could be submitted to the President of Pakistan to pardon "in the name of Allah (God)" or on humanitar ian grounds, under article 45. Immense powers are vested with Pakistan's President under this article to grant amnesty or to pardon anyone who has been convicted of any charges under the Pakistani constitution.

During the talks, President Zardari agreed that Blasphemy Laws were being misused to settle personal enmities and disputes, said Christian Minister Shahbaz Bhatti in his interview to ANS. He added that all articles of the Blasphemy Laws 295-A, 295-B and 295-C were "vague and open-ended" making religious minorities vulnerable to the misuse of the controversial articles which are part of the Blasphemy Laws.

Bhatti said that his APMA Fact Finding Team found that Asia Noreen was innocent, and that the case was "built by Muslim fundamentalists merely upon the commonplace hatred harbored against Christians, disdainfully referring to them as 'untouchables' or 'Choohra' and 'Bhangi,'" the derogatory words frequently used to denigrate Christians in Punjabi or Sindhi Languages respectively.

Shahbaz Bhatti said i n his interview with ANS, that during his meeting with Zardari he submitted the report which was based upon 'on-the-ground realities' and the statements of eye-witnesses, which "unambiguously declared Asia Noreen innocent."

ANS has further learned that after reading the APMA Team's report, President Zardari pledged that if the Asia Noreen case was delayed in the High Court that he would intervene and, on the grounds of APMA report, he would pardon her.

Bhatti stated that in the APMA report, high level security for the safety of Asia Noreen's family was also demanded because she would be more vulnerable to attacks by radical Muslims after her exoneration and release from the district jail in Shiekhupura.

Bhatti said that after going through APMA report about Asia Noreen's case and the alleged misuse of Blasphemy Laws by radical Muslims, the President asked him to form a committee to revise Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws, which have come under recent criticism.

Bhatti declared the forming of a committee which he would head to be "a great achievement." The committee would comprise of members hailing from Muslim clerics from all sects, dignitaries or scholars from all religious minorities, Christian clergymen of various denominations, representatives of various civil society organizations, and representatives of all political and religious parties of Pakistan.

Bhatti said the primary goal of the committee of interfaith members is "to revise or redefine the controversial Blasphemy Laws and bring them into their real form as they were introduced in 1860 by the then-British rulers to prevent the desecration of all Holy Prophets, worship places and Holy Divine Books, indiscriminately."

Bhatti went on to say that until his death in a plane crash, military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq defied the articles of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws' in order to prolong his illegal military regime and gain the support of hardline Islamic political and religious parties so that he could strengthen his tyrannical rule in the 1980s.

Bhatti said the committee would also recommend that the present form of Blasphemy Laws "should be nullified with immediate effect" and all cases of Blasphemy Laws must be heard in the High Court instead of Lower District and Sessions Courts "because they are under the duress of local fanatics and coerced by them to often convict innocent inmates to death."

ANS asked Bhatti about rumors that President Zardari and Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab province, have surpassed the proper judicial proceedings in the case of Asia Noreen under pressure of Western countries, and that instead of going through the proper judicial process the President decided to purge Noreen (who is also known as Asyia Bibi). He stated that Pakistan's government was under no such so-called pressure and everything was being done on humanitarian grounds, and the reality was that Noreen, though convicted, was found innocent during APMA probe.

Bhatti also added that no judicial processes were surpassed, the case is currently being heard in the High Court in Lahore, an d APMA was providing her full legal assistance together with financial support to her family.

Bhatti said that after her acquittal, Asia Noreen would be provided with high-level security and none of the militants or Islamists would be able to touch her or her family, in any way or form.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Wednesday, 1 December 2010, 9:26 (EST)

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) supports the personal recommendation of Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, for the repeal of the widely-misused blasphemy laws.
The recommendation came as part of Minister Bhatti’s investigation into the case of Asia Bibi, thought to be the first woman sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws, and was submitted to President Asif Ali Zardari on 25 November. The report concluded that the blasphemy case registered against Asia Bibi, a Christian, is without foundation.
According to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), Minister Bhatti’s report proposed that Asia Bibi be released from prison or pardoned if her pending appeal in the Lahore High Court is not addressed within an appropriate timeframe. President Zardari has reportedly agreed to pardon Asia Bibi if her appeal “languishes” in the courts, and Minister Bhatti has assured CSW that the government is making efforts to guarantee the safety of Asia Bibi and her family.
The President has also called for the formation of a high level committee, headed by Shahbaz Bhatti which will consult with Islamic scholars, political parties and human rights organisations to review the blasphemy laws and propose recommendations to prevent their misuse.

Minister Bhatti has regularly spoken out against the blasphemy laws, and the Ministry for Minorities Affairs has long been leading negotiations with other state officials to agree possible amendments to the legislation. “Tabling a proposal for amendment is not the difficult part, it is gathering enough support that requires most effort,” Minister Bhatti told CSW on Monday.

CSW’s Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston said, “This is Minister Bhatti’s first opportunity to express his personal opinion on the blasphemy laws and CSW welcomes his bold call for full repeal. Furthermore, the significance of President Zardari’s decision to establish a committee on the issue should not be underestimated, and we urge its members not to limit discussions to amendment alone. Regarding Asia Bibi’s case, in light of current circumstances, we hope that due process can be quickly and justly followed by way of a high court appeal so that her innocence can be proven to all.”

For further information, visit www.csw.org.uk.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Cardinal's visit to Pakistan gives new hope for release of Asia Bibi
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

VATICAN CITY (ANS) -- A high-ranking Catholic official has met with Pakistani President Ali Zardari on Nov. 25 to discuss the case of Asia Bibi, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA).

Cardinal Tauran

Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother of four, was convicted of blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad and sentenced to death by hanging in the town of Sheikhupura, near the capital city, Lahore.

Bibi has stated that she is being persecuted for defending her faith to Muslim co-workers who claimed that Christianity was a "false religion." She was jailed days later, brought to trial and convicted for blasphemy.

CNA says Vatican Radio reports the meeting between Cardinal Tauran, the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, with Pakistan's President as well as the country's Minister for Religious Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti had already been on the calendar, but the events surrounding Bibi's impending death sentence provided greater relevance to their discussions.

Cardinal Tauran celebrated Mass Nov. 26 at the Cathedral of Rawalpindi and expressed Pope Benedict XVI's solidarity with the local Catholic community.

The next day, he met with Pakistani bishops in Lahore and attended a conference on in ter-religious dialogue.

Vatican Radio also reported that the Pakistani Parliament is considering a proposal to punish blasphemy with five years in prison rather than with the death penalty.

That idea has been met with rejection by Muslim extremists who also argue that President Zadari does not have the power to grant a pardon to Bibi.