A Christian rape sufferer was pressured to drop prices towards her attackers
LAHORE, Pakistan — Police in Pakistan are pressuring a younger Christian girl to drop prices towards two Muslims who raped her, blackmailed her and tried to forcibly convert her to Islam, sources mentioned.
A 26-year-old girl, a resident of Islamabad, whose identify is withheld as a rape sufferer, mentioned Sub-Inspector Muhammad Mehboob harassed her and warned her to drop prices towards Raja Waleed and Shah Hussain alias Badshah.
Waleed and Hussain blackmailed her into silence over the previous 4 months utilizing cellphone movies of the sexual assaults, she mentioned.
In September, Hussain borrowed a big sum of cash from the lady's mom. The next month, he instructed the younger girl to accompany him to a buddy's home in Rawalpindi, who would give him cash to pay her again, she mentioned.
“After we reached the home, Hussain left me within the room on the pretext of constructing a telephone name,” she instructed Christian Day by day Worldwide-Morning Star Information.
As quickly as Hussain left, his buddy Waleed entered the room with an AK-47 rifle, she mentioned.
“He fired a bullet into the wall to scare me after which sexually assaulted me, ignoring my pleas for mercy,” she mentioned. “I can’t specific the fear I skilled in these moments when my thoughts and physique went fully numb. After Waleed assaulted me, he filmed me together with his cell phone and threatened to share it on social media if I reported the incident to the police and didn’t comply together with his calls for.”
In accordance with her, the nightmare solely started when Waleed continued to blackmail her by means of movies and compelled her to fulfill him repeatedly.
“I used to be fully helpless and had no selection,” she mentioned. “My father died and I didn't need my widowed mom to endure the ache of my harrowing destiny. Waleed additionally began forcing me to get collectively together with his buddies and threatened to launch the movies if I didn't comply together with his needs.”
In November, as a consequence of repeated assaults, she discovered she was pregnant.
“After I instructed Waleed and Hussain about my situation, they pressured me to transform to Islam at gunpoint,” she mentioned. “After I fought again, Waleed attacked me with kicks and punches, which led to the miscarriage.
Because the ordeal continued, she determined she wanted to share her scenario together with her mom.
“My mom broke down when she heard about my ordeal however instructed me to not fear,” she mentioned. “She then took me to the police station the place I instructed my story, confirmed proof of extortion and filed a rape case towards Waleed and Hussain. I additionally appealed to the police to get the blackmail content material from their telephones.”
Fees had been filed on Feb. 13, however as a substitute of arresting the 2 suspects, police alerted them and so they had been launched on bail, she mentioned.
“Since then, they’ve been threatening me and my mom to drop the case or face the results,” she mentioned.
The sufferer mentioned she had registered one other case towards two Muslims for threatening to kill her and her mom, however that no motion was taken by the police.
“As an alternative of giving me justice, Police Investigating Officer Mehboob is pressurizing and intimidating me to withdraw the case,” she mentioned. “He saved saying that as a result of I'm a Christian, I don't stand an opportunity towards highly effective criminals.”
Mehboob has obstructed her medical examination, delayed her underneath varied pretexts and threats and is now blocking the analysis of her DNA samples, she mentioned.
“It's an entire injustice to me and all the opposite minority women who’re victims of such predators,” she mentioned. “I’m decided not to surrender my pursuit of justice it doesn’t matter what occurs now and am asking Christian management for help on this authorized battle.”
When Christian Day by day Worldwide-Morning Star Information reached out to Mehboob for remark, he denied favoring the suspects and threatening the sufferer.
“The police have registered each circumstances filed by the sufferer and are offering her with all potential authorized help,” he mentioned. “The date for the defendants' preliminary bail listening to is scheduled for this week and we shall be in search of to have the bails revoked.”
Christian political activist Shahzad Imran Sahotra mentioned he and a few Christian legal professionals met the sufferer's household and warranted them of their help.
“We met Rawalpindi police chief together with the sufferer and knowledgeable him concerning the angle of his subordinates in direction of the complainant,” Sahotra instructed Christian Day by day Worldwide-Morning Star Information. “The police officer has now deputed a senior police official to analyze the case and conduct a medical examination of the sufferer.
Sahotra, the one Christian in Pakistan who ran for the final seat in Islamabad within the February 8 basic election however misplaced, confirmed that the 2 suspects have appreciable affect over the native police.
“Waleed and Hussain are in the true property enterprise and have a legal document,” he mentioned. “They know easy methods to maneuver in such circumstances, however we’re decided to get justice for our Christian 'daughter'.”
Sahotra, pained by her ordeal for months, mentioned it was heartening to see her stand as much as them.
“Her act will set a precedent for all different women who are suffering silently in comparable conditions out of worry for their very own lives and reputations and the lives of their family members,” he mentioned.
As within the earlier 12 months, Pakistan was ranked seventh on the record of probably the most troublesome locations for Christianity within the Open Doorways 2024 World Watch Record.