ICC Note:

Two Muslim clerics have been arrested by the Pakistani Supreme Court for inciting a mob that tortured and murdered a Christian couple in Pakistan last month. According to a report, the clerics were accused of inciting a large mob of Muslims to attack a Christian couple after accusing them of committing blasphemy. The mob went on to attack the Christians, torture them and then burn them alive in a brick kiln. Police officers have also been implicated in the incident for not taking proper measures to rescue the Christian couple from the mob during the attack. Will this round of arrests help Pakistan reform? 

12/18/2014 Pakistan (Christian Daily) – Two Muslim clerics have been placed under arrest by the Pakistani Supreme Court for inciting a violent mob of hundreds of Muslims to brutally beat, torture, burn and murder a married Christian couple in the Punjab Province in early November.

The court also ordered disciplinary action to be levied against five police officials, who were present during the time of the beatings but took no action to protect the two individuals. Additionally, the court ordered a complete investigation into the incident and also ordered compensation payments to be made to the family of the victimized couple.

Maseeh, 26, and his wife Bibi, 24, were attacked by enraged Muslims at their workplace, a brick factory, on November 4 when Bibi was accused of burning verses of the Koran. The mob had beaten them before setting them on fire in industrial kiln in the workplace.

It was discovered that Bibi had unintentionally burned verses of the Koran along with other items that were left behind by her deceased father. The kiln manager had originally discovered the burned verses and allegedly demanded the Christians stay indoors until they “pay off their debts.” Afterword, he informed regional mosques of the incident which gathered mobs to attack the couple.

According to a 17-page report conducted for the three-member bench by Punjab police, the mob, which consisted of about 500-600 people, began to torture the couple in front of members of their family and in the presence of police officials.

The report also says that police officers in the area attempted to stop the violence, but the officers’ actions were halted by the large crowd. After having had their legs broken and having been tortured, over 15 people from the mob picked the couple up and thrust them into the kiln, while they were still alive.

“Why they did not make an attempt to secure the Christian couple, as they could disperse the mob through aerial firing,” Mulk questioned.

According to the The Express Tribune, an advocate for the police department told the court that the police officers in the area were also tortured by the mob when they tried to respond, which prevented the officers from taking further action. However, the chief justice asked if their was medical proof to show that the officers were in fact tortured, and the police advocate replied that “there is no such report in this regard.”

The attorney representing the owner of the brick kiln told the court that kiln owner had warned police prior to the incident that “some clerics” were “inciting people”, but no security measures were taken.

Initially calling for the investigation into the murders were the couples’ surviving family members, who claim that they were threatened and even bribed to drop their plea for an investigation.

“All we want is fair investigation of this case,” the brother of Shahzad, Shahbaz Masih, said according to The Express Tribune.

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