December 23, 2008
Disabled Christian waits in 9-year legal limbo, sent to prison for kidnapping.'
by Michael Larson
ISTANBUL, December 23 (Compass Direct News) - A Pakistani Christian boy's quarrel with a Muslim policeman's son has led to his father's imprisonment, torture, paralysis, and five-year prison sentence.
The father's health condition has become so fragile that he was temporarily released from prison and sent to a Faisalabad hospital on Sunday (Dec. 20). Emanuel Masih, 43, is now in stable condition, his attorney told Compass.
Emanuel Masih, of Faisalabad, a father of six and a former street sweeper, is trying to commute his prison sentence instigated by police officer Omer Draz who tortured him and had him imprisoned on trumped-up charges originating from a quarrel between their sons nine years ago.
The situation began in 1999 when his son Saleem, 9 at the time, was involved in a dispute with Draz's son at the childrens' Muslim-majority elementary school. The next day to protect Saleem, Emanuel Masih and his brother-in-law Amin Masih accompanied Saleem to a bus station, along with Saleem's brothers, to subdue the police officer. Draz, however, attacked Saleem and Emanuel Masih's other sons.
Following the incident Draz conspired with his housecleaner Zaniran Bibi, a Christian, to have Emanuel Masih arrested. She claimed that Emanuel Masih was responsible for the kidnapping of her son who had gone missing some time earlier.
There was no evidence to link Emanuel Masih to the kidnapping, his attorney said.
Police arrested Emanuel Masih along with Amin Masih, who was also falsely implicated in the kidnapping, without possibility of bail. The two men were tortured for a month, according to a report from the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) advocacy group.
Draz had a regular routine of torture for Emanuel Masih and his brother-in-law: He gathered the brothers together, dragged them outside the police station and beat them with iron rods. A month of these beatings paralyzed Emanuel Masih's arms and legs.
"They took (them) to a private house and beat them there," said CLAAS lawyer Akbar Durrani to Compass. "They used a separate house because they are afraid of the courts."
Emanuel Masih was then sent to judicial lock-up since he was too weak to attend a court hearing. The prison superintendent was so surprised at his condition he called on Emanuel Masih's younger brother Jabar Masih to provide him physical care.
Emanuel Masih is also illiterate. Due to his injuries he could not work and had to rely on donations from charity groups. He has regained partial use of his legs but still cannot use his arms. He has been unemployed since 1999.
The two men were eventually released on bail. In the intervening nine years, Emanuel Masih and Amin Masih continued to attend court hearings. But May 24 they were arrested and given a five-year prison sentence along with a fine of 25,000 rupees (US$320). Lawyers appealed the decision in September at a Faisalabad court.
Trying to get out
Emanuel Masih could be released from prison due to an article in Pakistan criminal law that requires proper facilities for an incapacitated person. If they are not available the prisoner can be released without a court order.
In September Durrani filed a petition of release to Pakistan's Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, who is in charge of the country's internal security. Without the use of his arms Emanuel Masih could not survive in prison unless Amin assisted him.
"His brother-in-law feeds and washes him. That's why he has been able to survive until now," Durrani said.
Gupta requested a medical examination of Emanuel Masih, which declared him incapacitated. The final decision to let him go rests with the jail superintendent, who received the report from the home secretary in early December.
Faisalabad is located in Punjab, near the Indian border. Radical religious elements in Punjab have become active in carrying out Islamic terrorist acts outside Pakistani borders. Two of the nine identified gunmen in the Nov. 26 attacks in Mumbai that killed 188 and injured 293 were from this city of 2.6 million.
On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Muslims set fire to a church in a nearby village as its parishioners were decorating for Christmas. The attackers left behind a letter telling the Christians they would be damned to hell if they did not become Muslims, according to International Christian Concern.
Parish priest Yaqoob Yousaf has called for security forces to arrest the culprits quickly, for fear of similar attacks on the congregation during its Christmas Day services.
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