LAHORE, Pakistan — Well-known Pakistani minority rights activist Joseph Francis and two others were jailed July 12 for forged documents in connection with false charges of assaulting a woman who visited his office in 2006, lawyers said.
Francis, a national director for the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), which for more than two decades has defended Christians and others against spurious charges by Islamists, was arrested July 9, along with CLAAS official Ashar Sarfaraz and his brother-in-law Zulfiqar Wilson. All three were remanded to two days of police custody under pressure from Islamists who have harassed Francis and the other two men with false accusations, CLAAS lawyers said.
One of Francis’ lawyers said the court did not listen to their arguments for releasing Francis, as it was biased toward the Islamists who have urged the woman to charge the CLAAS officials with assault.
CLAAS officers had counseled the woman, identified only as Roma, in 2006 when her Christian parents brought her to the office after converting to Islam. “[H]er parents wanted us to explain to her the consequences and implication of doing so,” said CLAAS program officer Katherine Sapna. (TAB)
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