Pakistani judge buckles under pressure from Islamic extremists

A manacled Hector Aleem in police custody

HOT on the heels of reports that five people – four of them teenagers – had been arrested for the “blasphemous” act of writing the “prophet” Mo’s name on the walls of a mosque toilet, comes the news that a man has been convicted of sending a “blasphemous” text message from his mobile phone.

According to Compass Direct News, when Hector Aleem was brought to a Punjabi court to face the charge, more than 100 protestors surrounded the courthouse and chanted death threats.

Aleem, 51, a Christian, was arrested late last year by Rawalpindi police for sending a text message that allegedly insulted Big Mo. The message had been sent to “a scholar” associated with the national Islamist political movement Sunni Tehreek. The recipient then registered a blasphemy charge against Aleem at the Rawalpindi police station.

Aleem’s attorney, Malik Tafik, told Compass that the charges had been trumped up because his client had made legal challenges on behalf of Christians involved in a land dispute. Aleem directs a small agency that often defends the rights of Christians.

Describing the mob outside the courtroom, Tafik said:

There were about 150 people protesting that Aleem should be handed over to them.

Those calling for his death were no ordinary riff-raff – they included:

Many journalists, two news stations representatives, and lawyers.

Police are said to have raided Aleem’s home  at 1:30 am on January 22. They assaulted him, his wife, and his two daughters. They also stole 50,000 Pakistan rupees (about £300) worth of valuables and smashed pictures of Jesus hanging on their walls, according to a report from the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).

Aleem is currently detained at the Adiyala Jail in Rawalpindi. During his incarceration, police have mistreated him and denied him adequate food and access to medicine for his heart condition. He told lawyers that police have not allowed him to meet with his family and referred to him as “choohra” (sweeper), a derogatory term used against Pakistani Christians.

At a court on Monday, February 2, Judge Sakhi Mohammad Kohut cleared him of the blasphemy charge but he was found guilty of abetting. A government official told Compass that the judge’s decision was heavily influenced by Islamic extremists attending the open court hearing who told the judge

If you release [Aleem], then we will kill him outside.