ICC Note:
Christians in Pakistan were out in protest following news that a Christian prisoner in Lahore died under mysterious circumstances. Indaryas Ghulam was arrested in 2015 in connection with the lynching of two Muslims following the bombing of two churches in Youhanabad. Ghulam and his family maintained that Ghulam was not involved in the lynching. According to police, Ghulam died of poor health. Ghulam’s family claims he was tortured to death. Will Ghulam or his family ever get the justice they deserve?
08/19/2017 Pakistan (Asia News) – Pakistan’s Christians have taken to streets to protest the death of Indaryas Ghulam, a 38-year-old Christian, who died under mysterious circumstances whilst in police custody in Lahore Jail.
The death occurred last Sunday, on the eve of the country’s 70th independence anniversary.
Ghulam was one of 42 Christians arrested on charges of lynching two Muslims suspected of taking part in the Taliban attack against two churches in Youhanabad on March 15, 2015 that left 19 people dead and more than 70 wounded.
He was also one the prisoners who Prosecutor Syed Anees Shah tried to bribe, promising release in exchange of reneging Christ. He could have saved his life, but decided to bear witness to his faith onto death.
Ghulam, who had been sentenced to death by hanging for his alleged involvement in the beating of the two Muslims, had always maintained his innocence.
News about his death came from the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA).
The prison administration attributed his death to poor health; he had tuberculosis. But his wife Shabana and daughter Shumir, who saw the body, said that he had burns and cuts everywhere, clear signs of torture and of the brutality to which he had been subjected.
What is more, they add that although he was severely ill, he never received adequate medical care behind the bars.
“Indaryas Ghulam is a Christian martyr, whose sacrifice must remind all of us of the need to strive for justice,” said BPCA president Wilson Chowdhry. “Although he was innocent and endured atrocious sufferings, he chose death in lieu of the freedom offered in exchange for conversion to Islam.”
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