Pakistan: 44 arrests in mob killing of Christian couple
November 06, 2014
Police in Pakistan have arrested 44 people in connection with the horrific murder of a Christian couple.
Shahzad and Shama Bibi were thrown alive into a furnace-- reportedly after their legs were broken-- because of unconfirmed reports that they had torn pages from a copy of the Qu'ran. Friends of the victims said that the couple had actually been burning papers belonging to a deceased relative. But a mob of over 300 people surrounded the Christian couple and eventually killed them.
Shahbaz Sharif, the governor of the Punjab state-- and brother of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-- has commissioned an investigation of the deaths and ordered extra security for Christian neighborhoods.
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Further information:
- 44 arrested in Pakistan in burning death (Fides)
- Christian couple burned alive in Pakistan (CWN, 11/5)
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Posted by: R. Spanier (Catholic Canadian) -
Nov. 11, 2014 1:24 AM ET USA
From an NBC news story about the murder of this married Christian couple: "Bibi, a mother of four who was four months pregnant, was wearing an outfit that initially didn't burn, according to Javed Maseeh. The mob removed her from over the kiln and wrapped her up in cotton to make sure the garments would be set alight." http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistani-christians-burned-alive-were-attacked-1-200-people-kin-n243386
