Sunday, October 14, 2012

Pakistan: 15 year old Christian accused of sending blasphemous text message

They ransacked his family home. 

They burnt it to the ground. 

They tried to kill his family but they were rescued by a local NGO. 

All this, after a text message which Islamic fundamentalists claim used blasphemous language. 

Hence the violent protest and the attempt to “rough justice” against 15 year old Christian, Ryan Brian Patus, last night in Karachi, a city in Southern Pakistan.

The boy escaped the  attack because he was not at home, in the middle class district of Gulshan-i-Iqbal which is targeted by fanatics. He was in hospital at the time, assisting his father who is seriously ill. 

The police, who intervened on the spot, said the boy is accused of sending a blasphemous text message that began to circulate among the residents of the area, triggering reactions. 

Ryan claims to have received and forwarded the text message to his friends without reading it carefully. 

As reported to Fides news agency by the local NGO "World Vision in Progress", Ryan has been accused by two witnesses and the Imam Qari Ghulam Qadir, of the the Jamia mosque, who registered a First Information Report (formal complaint) for breach of Article 295c of the Penal Code (insulting the Prophet Mohammed).


The Anglican Bishop of Karachi, Mgr. Ijaz Inayat, of the "Church of Pakistan", said he was "appalled by the story and deeply concerned about the safety of the family." 

In a message sent to Fides, the Pakistani NGO "Human Rights Commission of Pakistan," reports that in 2012 in Pakistan 22 official cases of blasphemy have been recorded, all controversial.