Faisalabad (30 Sep 2023): Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) welcomes the post-arrest bail of Pastor Eliezer alias Vicky with Johnson Masih and Gulfam Masih.

The Judicial Magistrate Faisalabad Nausheen Umair ordered on 30 September 2023 on the facts that police did not convert offense 324 PPC into 325 PPC and that itself a bailable in nature. 

Pastor Eliezer alias Vicky and others were sent to judicial lockup since 28 September 2023 on police Investigation Report to the court. The police Investigation Officer (I.O) alleged in report that Pastor Vicky was doing a "drama" to get benefits and popularity after he was paralyzed. 

Pastor Vicky got severely injured in the deadly attack in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 3 September 2023. When he was returning back from a prayer meeting, he was stopped by a youth with an unknown near the drain. They pointed a gun at him and forced him to embrace Islam, but the Pastor said he will only praise Jesus. The religious youth shot the gun at Pastor Vicky that hit his shoulder. 

This issue started, when on 28 August 2023 the members of a religious militant group wrote some Islamic Slogans on the outer wall of Nasreth Church, Faisalabad. The religious group also wrote on the Church wall that the Church’s Pastor Vicky should be cursed.

On the complaint of Pastor Vicky, on 29 August 2023 police came and erased the Islamic Slogans from the Church wall. After couple of days, when Pastor Vicky was coming back home on his bike, a bearded youth came near him and asked him why he had erased Islamic slogans from the Church wall? Now ready to be erased from the world, a religious youth threatened Pastor. On 3 September 2023 he was attacked by the same youth and ally. 

Pastor Vicky was wounded and taken to the local hospital (DHQ) via ambulance. After hospitalization Pastor Vicky was brought by police to their illegal confinement. During confinement he got diabetic attack with trauma and partially paralyzed. 

On 14 September 2023 considering the Pastor Vicky’s allies Johnson Masih, Nasir Masih, Gulfam Masih, Kashif Masih, Badam Khan and Pervaiz Masih were also taken into the illegal police confinement with him.

Later, after getting free from police illegal confinement, Pastor Vicky stated that he was forced to give statement that he shot himself on his shoulder. He recorded a video statement as well.  

On 18 September 2023 on the Court orders of Additional Session Judge Faisalabad Choudhry Inam Elahi in response of bailiff sent to the police station Saddar Faisalabad, Pastor Vicky was neither produces nor his Medico Legal Certificate (MLC). While the police kept Pastor Vicky in his home under their monitoring. Pastor was not allowed for any movement, and no one was allowed to meet him. 

On 23 September 2023 Pastor Vicky appeared in the court. Magistrate Inam Elahi ordered Pastor for 2 days remand. On 25 September 2023 Pastor Vicky was taken to court and he was sent to the police remand for couple of days more. 

Naveed Walter president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) said that HRFP is monitoring & working closely and raising voice since the matter of Pastor Eliezer alias Vicky has started. He said, this is most important in a sense that Pastor was attacked and alleged to write on the wall of Church with Islamic Slogans that he never wrote but admitted forcefully. Moreover, Pastor Vicky refused to accept in his video statement, that make sense because during the same weeks after Jaranwala incident, the number of same incidents had reported in which the Islamic religious elements had been making problems, and they were writing Islamic verses on Churches walls. Some reports of same issues have been seen in Karachi, Sarghodha, and Rawalpindi with blasphemy accusations and writing Islamic slogans on the Churches walls, Naveed Walter added.    

Naveed Walter said further that the state should take bold steps for establishing a mechanism to deal with such issues like Jaranwala and Pastor Vicky's as an "aftershock" of Jaranwala. The police and authorities proved that they have no capacity to tackle religious violent mobs, and resolve the clashes, and also there is not a single positive example that could be followed because no one has taken strong measures against the elements those have been spreading hatred towards religious minorities, Naveed Walter added. 

Naveed Walter said, when the state will make the agreements like "Faizabad Agreement" that must be in contradiction with the law of the land and would be source of long-term encouragements to the religious groups, he added.

Naveed Walter demands to ensure the protection of Pastor Vicky and other accused and bring the real culprits to justice, he added. He said Pastor Vicky's life is in danger and during court trial and when he is paralyzed, he needs a medical treatment. Naveed Walter said the accused Johnson Masih and Gulfam Masih are also on the target of perpetrators so if something happened with Pastor Vicky, family members and other accused, the police and authorities will be responsible, he added.