PESHAWAR: Pakistani authorities have begun an investigation to identify and arrest members of a mob that killed a local tourist accused of blasphemy, after they ransacked a police station holding him in protective custody, officials said on Friday.
A mob beat the man to death on Thursday night after accusing him of burning pages of the Qur’an. They set the police station in the country’s northwest ablaze and injured eight policemen, Malakand division’s regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur told Reuters.
“After initially rescuing the man from a crowd, the police took him to the station in Madyan, but announcements from mosque loud speakers asked locals to come out,” Gandapur said, after which the mob stormed the station.
Lynchings are common in Pakistan, an Islamic republic where blasphemy can legally carry the death penalty.
Legal processes are frequently preceded by vigilante action based on rumors or complaints.
Graphic videos of the latest incident, verified to Reuters by the police, showed a frenzied mob dragging a naked and bloodied body through the streets, and then setting it on fire. The footage went viral on social media and sparked outcry among Pakistani users.
Gandapur said the situation was under control and a case registered against the organizers of the mob. He added the man had been visiting the Swat Valley, a popular tourist destination, for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha.
Last month, a Christian man in his seventies was attacked by a mob on charges of burning pages of the Qur’an and later died of his injuries in eastern Pakistan.
In 2021, a Sri Lankan factory manager was lynched in one of the highest profile incidents in the country. Six people were sentenced to death for their part in the lynching after the incident sparked global outcry.
Pakistan police hunt mob that lynched local tourist accused of blasphemy
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Pakistan police hunt mob that lynched local tourist accused of blasphemy
- A mob beat the man to death on Thursday night after accusing him of burning pages of the Qur’an
- Lynchings are common in Islamic republic of Pakistan, where blasphemy can legally carry the death penalty
Portugal arrests dozens over hate crimes targeting Pakistanis among Muslim immigrants
- Portugal’s foreign-born population has boosted to around 15 percent of the total in recent years
- At the same time, the far right has been gaining in popularity with anti-immigrant messaging
LISBON: Portuguese police said on Tuesday they had detained dozens of suspected members of a group that spread neo-Nazi propaganda and committed hate crimes against immigrants.
The 37 suspects had “extensive criminal records and links to international groups that promote hate,” the judicial police said in a statement, adding that 15 people had been formally charged.
The victims were mostly immigrants from Muslim-majority countries in South Asia, according to local media.
The arrival of workers from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, has boosted Portugal’s foreign-born population in recent years to around 15 percent of the total.
At the same time, the far right has been gaining in popularity with anti-immigrant messaging.
The authorities said the suspects founded a hierarchical criminal organization to promote racial hatred and violence.
Those arrested are due in court on Wednesday, suspected of spreading “neo-Nazi ideas... to intimidate and persecute ethnic minorities, particularly immigrants.”
