Rights Group in Pakistan Seeks Answers on Christian’s Death
ICC Note
Christians are protesting the murder of a Christian man, who was accused of blasphemy, inside his prison cell.
09/16/2009 Pakistan (The New York Times)-A Christian man detained on blasphemy charges was found dead in his jail cell on Tuesday in eastern Pakistan . Human rights groups here said he appeared to have been murdered, perhaps in collusion with the authorities.
The death of the Christian, Robert Fanish, 20, is part of a rising trend of violence against minorities in Pakistan, said a panel of Pakistani human rights groups in a news conference on Wednesday. It follows the burning deaths of six Christians in July, and mob attacks against Christian houses and a church in March and June.
Christians are a tiny minority in Pakistan , with the poorest living at the bottom of the social hierarchy. They are constitutionally barred from running for president.
Whatever the case, he was brought to a jail in Sialkot , the district capital, and after two days of police questioning he was found dead in his cell, sparking Christian riots.
On Wednesday, the provincial government ordered an investigation into the death and are also investigating whether to charge the jail staff with negligence.
