Protests turn violent over murder of Pakistani Catholic girl

(February 16, 2010) Protests turned violent in Lahore, Pakistan, on Sunday over the release of the alleged murderer of a 12-year-old Catholic girl. More than 100 protestors blocked the road outside the Lahore Press Club for an hour in reaction to Lahore Session Court’s decision to grant bail to Muhammad Naeem Chaudhry, charged with killing Shazia Bashir. Demonstrators burnt effigies of the medical board and hurled abuse at the authorities. Bashir, from a very poor Catholic family who worked as a servant for Naeem, a rich lawyer in Lahore, died on Jan. 22, reportedly after being raped and tortured by her employer. Naeem reportedly tried to buy the parents' silence, offering them 20,000 rupees. The judges at Lahore Session Court also confirmed bail for Chaudhry’s wife and son and bail for a middleman allegedly involved in providing child labour. One of the protesters, Joseph Francis, director of the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) told UCA News that during the proceedings, Christian lawyers were forced to withdraw their power of attorney by a large number of lawyers gathered inside the courtroom. CLAAS and Human Liberation Commission of Pakistan, HLCP, had jointly organized the Feb. 14 protest. They challenged Shazia’s autopsy report that said she did not die due to torture but from an “infection caused by previous injuries.”